Digimon Story: Sunburst
by Goko809
Summary: A boy with a deep love of history, an Agumon with a reckless pursuit of power, a Patamon that values order over anything else, and a Coronamon that finally found a place to belong. Follow the story of the newest members of Light Fang seeing the digital world through their eyes.
1. Welcome to the Digital World

The sun beats down on me mercilessly, making my vision blurry as I sit in the middle of this barren wasteland. "Where is this?" wiping an absurd amount of sweat off my forehead as I scan the area. That's when I notice a small pile of bones, making me quickly crawl over with excitement to get a closer look. "Wow, is this a Giganotosaurus?!" putting on my dark blue goggles, I eagerly pull out my chisel, mini shovel and brush from my cargo pockets. Once the excavation is finished, I feel the smile on my face touching my ears. "Dream or not, this is the best day ever!" with measuring tape next to the fossil, I snap a picture with my goggles.

"Hey, human!" a voice shouts from a distance.

Holding up a finger, I snap three more photos in rapid succession. "One second!"

The voice now noticeably closer says. "Excuse you!"

"I said just one more-" Turning around I go into complete and utter shock, what stands before me is a tiny yellow dinosaur only about a foot smaller than myself. More specifically, it looks like the cavernous T-Rex. Sitting there shaking, I couldn't help, but think is it going to eat me, too scared to actually speak.

"You belong to me now, understand?!" the dinosaur points at me with its sharp claws.

No doubt I'm dreaming, let me just close my eyes real tight...

"Don't ignore me!" it snarls baring its fangs. "Disrespect won't be tolerated!"

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to!" responding in a panic, I hope I'm not wrong and it actually is a male because it sure does sound like one.

"Good," he crosses his arms. "Now hurry and make me stronger," even though he calmed down, he still speaks with authority. If he could snap, I bet he would have done it.

"Um, how do I do that exactly?" I look him deep in his green eyes, so he knows I'm telling the truth.

"Are you serious, how did Monodramon...? " he scratches the top of his head. "Wasn't the human in danger? Maybe if I turn up the heat with a little baby flame," he cocks his head back as flames begin seeping from his mouth, before shooting out a ball of fire. It comes at me fast like a soccer ball and everything goes black, but this isn't death. Patting down my body from head to toe confirms this, as a light shines on my face all at once, I look up and see Anubis! There was no mistaking it with the Egyptian clothing and canine face.

"Wow, that was close," a woman with milk chocolate skin and golden blonde hair stands in front of me, something I've never seen before. Wearing a black tank top and green jeans she's definitely more prepared for the heat than me. She turns her head and flashes a bright white smile. "You're lucky I saw you fall."

"Hey, stop butting in! That human belongs to me!"

The woman lets out a heavy sigh. "A weak Digimon looking to use a human to get stronger, if I had a nickel..." She rolls her eyes.

"Who are you calling weak?!" the yellow T-Rex lunges at the woman.

She doesn't move a muscle... With a single fwip of Anubis's golden wing the dinosaur plummets to the ground, causing the blonde to burst out laughing as she clutches her sides. "To attack with a mega behind me, I've never seen anything like it," she wipes away a single tear. "You've got guts, it would be a shame to see you deleted now." Anubis picks up its unconscious foe and drapes him over its shoulder.

"Um," I feel now is the best time to speak up. "Where are we?" the first of a million questions I want to ask.

"Oh, excuse me, I was kind of in the moment," she takes a knee and holds out her hand. "I'm Litton and you, sir, are in the digital world."

The digital world? That word was the key for my mind to start piecing together everything that happened and it all started this morning.

* * *

"Huh?" I raise my head as sunlight seeps through the curtains momentarily blinding me. Looking left with drowsy eyes, I see the alarm clock that unexpectedly woke me up buzzing on my desk. It takes a second to realize, but then it hits me. "I can't believe I fell asleep!" groaning angrily I smack my head and glance down to see myself still wearing the same outfit as yesterday, alongside two open notebooks. "Well, at least I don't have to make my bed. Nothing to freak out about," chuckling at the situation I neatly place everything in my red backpack. "From the looks of it, I was almost done, I'll just finish it at school." Throwing my old clothes on the bed I rush off to get ready for the new day.

"Koh, breakfast!" my mom shouts.

"Coming!" I yell back, being led downstairs by the mouthwatering smell of grilled fish.

As I take my seat ,my mom wipes her hands on her pink flower print apron. "Your father should be home any minute, so wait until he gets here," she lets down her auburn red hair that rests on her shoulders.

Mom has always been big on breakfast and dinner. Dad works the night shift so he gets off of work the same time I go to school, meaning we're only together for these two meals. I feel the same on the matter since I always love hearing about how Dad's night went, and Mom's cooking is the best.

Behind me, a door shuts, the sound echoing across the house. Even though I didn't turn around, I already knew who it was. "How's it going, scholar?" my dad says as he ruffles my orange hair and loosens his tie. He throws his cap perfectly on the coat rack and slicks back his light blonde hair.

Mom quickly gives him a peck on the cheek. "How was work?"

Slinging his work jacket over his chair, dad sits down and places a small brown package on the table. "I shouldn't say, but..." With a stern look on his face, he pauses putting his elbows on the table intertwining his fingers. Mom and I both look at him with our crimson eyes as the room becomes dead silent. "... I just got promoted to inspector!" he screams with a smile.

"How, I thought you said your board didn't go well?" Mom says in shock.

"I didn't think so, but the superintendent put in a good word for me, saying I was a key factor in our latest bust! On top of that my test scores were almost perfect!" he gets louder with each word, not even noticing that he's now standing.

"That's amazing dad! So you're basically a detective now!"

"Yep! The promotion ceremony is this Sunday! Are you excited?"

"Of course, I can't wait!" matching my excitement with his, I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. "So what's the box for? Is it your new uniform or something, I want to see!"

"Nope," he brushes under his nose. "This is for you."

"Huh?"

"I promised myself that if I got this promotion, I'd get you these," he slides the box over to me.

It couldn't be, opening it slowly I peek inside and see a pair of dark blue adventurer goggles. "Woah!" Yanking them up without hesitation, I simply admire them in the kitchen light. The number one item on any archaeologist's list: a high tech device with night vision capability, camera function, and clock. I saw these bad boys after my birthday so my parents said no. It takes everything I have to tear my eyes away, looking over at Dad in disbelief.

"It's okay to splurge for a celebration," my father says. "Well, go upstairs and try them on."

I make a break for the staircase; he didn't have to tell me twice. As I put on my gift I look at myself in the mirror. "Too bland," I stick out my tongue. "My usual outfit won't cut it. I need..." Digging through my closet, I pull out a shirt and a pair of shoes. "Definitely more red! Oh, I can't forget blue cargo shorts to hold all my equipment and a black jacket just in case the weather doesn't agree with me." With my outfit now complete, I take another look in the mirror. "Still not enough,"crossing my arms I begin to ponder, and then it hits me like a freight train. Ruffling my hair until it was unrecognizable, the prim and proper hairstyle my mom had forced onto me for eleven years was gone. "Perfect!" my reflection gives me a thumbs up.

Heading downstairs, I stop midway because of what I hear.

"Why did you accept the job?!" my mother cries, her tears running down her face falling to the floor, creating a small puddle at her feet. "I told you how I felt, but you did it anyway!"

"I'm sorry," my dad can't even look at her. "But I felt that with this new position I could help a lot more people. I can truly better this city we live in."

"Is that worth dying over?! Nobody will care once you're gone! We're the only ones who will suffer!" Mom runs into him, burying her face into his chest. "I need you, and Koh worships his father..."

Dad wraps his arms around her. "No matter what I see or how hurt I am, if I've helped at least one person, that's enough for me to come through our door with a smile," he rests his face on top of her head. "Hopefully I inspire Koh to become the kind of man that braves hardships, knowing any little effort can make the world a better place. If I can do that, it'll be worth it."

A whole minute passes in silence, as I watch their embrace. "So what do you two think of my outfit?" Now seems like a good time to come out.

Dad forces a smile. "You look awesome, as if you can take on anything."

Shooting him a V sign I don't wait for Mom to answer since she hasn't even left dad's arms. "Well, I'm off to school!" when the door shuts, I lean against it knowing I heard something I shouldn't have... The worst part is I didn't even finish breakfast. Turning on my goggles the time appears on the left lens. "It's already seven twenty, I'm usually gone by now." I pride myself on my perfect attendance. I've gone all throughout school without missing a day, and I can't ruin that on my last year. Bouncing up off the door I begin my commute to school.

* * *

"Good morning Koh, early as usual," a woman wearing a pink coat and white pants greets me as I enter, her and I being the only ones in the classroom.

"Early?! I was almost late, Ms. Kamiya! It's seven thirty!"

She giggles. "You know class starts at seven forty-five, right?"

"Mom always says come fifteen minutes early to all appointments, no exceptions!" To mimic my mom I start wagging my finger. "Punctuality is the key to success; it leaves a good impression and shows your character!" Opening up the notebooks from this morning I notice a stain in one of them. "Argh, I drooled on it! I hope she doesn't notice!"

The teacher leans over my shoulder as I start to write, her long brown hair touching the desk. "Are you doing homework?"

"No, I did that last night. One of my classmates has been sick for the past week, so I copied my notes onto another notebook so she doesn't fall behind. What was her name again? Saya, Sayu, Say?" tapping my pencil on my lip I try my best to remember.

"Oh, Sayo!" the teacher gasps in realization. "Well, that's sweet of you."

The students start trickling in, taking their seats and I immediately notice the girl we were just talking about cross the threshold. Long lavender hair that reaches her black skirt, a black jacket on top of a blue turtleneck, and a purple hat that resembles cat ears. She definitely stands out in a crowd. "Hey," running up to the girl I hand her the notebook. "Here."

She looks down with a puzzled expression. "What's this?"

"Notes. It clicked in my head after I dropped off your homework that you might need them to catch up."

"Thanks," she coughs.

"No need for my appreciation; it's one my of many duties as class president. Someone like you who gets sick for a whole week needs all the help they can get," I scratch my cheek. "Try not getting too close to others; I don't want anybody else becoming sick, so come to me for any problems."

"... I'll keep it in mind," the bell rings and Saya goes to her desk.

* * *

Classes drag on for the most part. That is, until the fourth period. Social studies has always made my mind race ever since I could remember. I can never stay on the same page for long, constantly reading and rereading our textbooks.

"Koh!"

Immediately I shoot up when my name is called, hoping she didn't have to say it too many times. "Yes!"

"Can you tell me the name of the three unifiers of Japan?" Ms. Kamiya taps the board with a piece of chalk.

Letting out a small sigh, hopefully unnoticed I think to myself this is too easy; there's no fun in answering questions like these. "Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu."

"Correct! Did you hear that Tonpei?" the teacher glares at a boy with dark orange hair. "Please pay attention in my class, and then maybe you can get the answers right," the bell rings and everybody moves their desks around to prepare for lunch.

"Hey," going up to a boy wearing an amber jacket on top of a white T-shirt and green shorts, I'm pretty sure he's the one teacher scolded. "We've been going over the three unifiers for a whole week now; you're obviously not picking it up," pulling a personal book out my backpack I try handing it to him. "Here, maybe this can explain things in a way you'll understand. I'll let you borrow it, Tanpei."

"It's Tonpei, and I don't need any more of your help, teacher's pet!" the boy slaps the book out of my hand and pushes me out of his way. "You've already made me look stupid in front of everybody!"

All I can do is tilt my head and ask myself why he's so mad? Maybe because I got his name wrong. I turn around only to see Saya putting on an apron. "What are you doing?!"

"Serving lunch..."

"What did I tell you earlier?!" snatching the serving spoon from her with a glare. "I'll take your job for today, you just focus on getting better.

She looks at me for a second with her violet eyes before handing over her apron and hairnet, giving me a slight nod. "Thanks again...

* * *

Lunch ends and next subject is physical education so I head out to the field with a pep in my step because today we're playing soccer against our rival class. We've been at each other's throats since sixth grade started, and the teachers finally set up this game to help settle things once and for all. Whoever wins gets bragging rights, and the loser must admit the winner is better in every way. With a blow of a whistle the exchange of kicks begins with the ball flying up and down the field. "Oh, the balls coming my way!" cocking back my foot I prepare to use all my strength and with one swift motion I miss completely falling head first on the ground. "Ow."

"What are you doing, get up!" a male student screams.

"R-right!" scrambling to my feet I slowly dribble the ball towards the goal, trying my best not to mess up again. Tune out the laughing coming from the other team I try my best to concentrate.

"Pass the ball!" a female hollers as a rival student appears in front of me.

He easily steals the ball and sprints in the opposite direction. Even running at my top speed I couldn't catch up, sweating from the attempt. When he's more than a yard away, I give up, resting my hands on my knees, panting heavily. When I raise up for better circulation, the soccer ball comes crashing into my face and everything goes dark.

"You guys can thank me later for taking him out, he would have lost us the game," sounds like Tunpei. "Now someone throw him in the nurse's office.

* * *

The bell rings and my head begins throbbing. With a quick scan of my surroundings it's obvious I am in the nurse's office, but the real question remains. "How long was I out?" Exiting the room I rub my head, trying to ignore this massive headache as I pass by a crowd of students all with their backpacks, laughing. Classes must be over.

"Class president, I was just coming to see you!" Tunpei wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Sucks what happened at the game, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good to hear," he tightens his grip. "Since you're feeling better could you do me a huge favor?"

"What is it?'

"Can you believe today is my turn to clean the classroom!" he gasps. "Usually I wouldn't mind, but I think I sprained something after making the game-winning point today in soccer," Tunpei gives me a grin. "Since you passed out, I was thinking it's only fair that you clean the room in my place."

"Of course!" I pound my chest with pride. "I can handle something as simple as this, now go rest up, you can't afford to get seriously injured! You're already falling behind in class; a day in the hospital could put you further behind Tunpei!"

"Tsk, it's Tonpei," is all he says before walking off with his hands in his pockets.

Picking up a broom I tighten my goggles and put in the effort. Thinking this should be done in no time, so I'll scrub, sweep and dust as hard as I can until the class is spotless, bumping into Ms. Kamiya on my way out.

"Koh, I was looking for you," she gives me a manila envelope.

"Oh yeah, report cards were today!" unfolding the piece of paper that was inside causes my heart sinks. My grades dropped again... How can I possibly show this to Dad after he got me these goggles?

"You exceed in Japanese, social studies and art, but the rest of your grades fall below average. If you need a tutor I'd be glad to assist you."

Letting out a hardy laugh, I tighten my resolve. "No, I can do this on my own. I just need to put in more effort and I'm sure I'll do better!"

"That's the spirit!"

Looking down I notice my report card all crumbled. "Huh, when did this- Ah crap, clubs are today!" no use worrying about the past, I have to hurry.

"Sorry I'm late, I-"

"I don't want to hear it, you always give me some lame excuse as to why you're tardy. Usually I would be okay with one or two times, but you have never since the year started come on time," an older man wearing a lab coat shakes his head. "I've cut you some slack since you're class president, but I see now you can't handle both school and extracurricular activities, so from here on out, you're no longer a member of the history club."

"Wait, I'll do better!"

"My word is final," the club advisor shakes his head. "You've disappointed me, so much potential wasted. All I can do now is wish you the best."

"Well, I guess I have more time after school to study," I scratch the back of my head. "I'll go look up some studying habits online since Mom doesn't expect me home for another hour."

When I enter the computer lab a single monitor stands out in the pitch black room. My curiosity leads me over and I see the words digital monsters typed out. "Well, this computer is already on so I'll use it," but no matter what I did the search bar couldn't be cleared and then something strange happens. A new phrase appears, come to the digital world in all white caps, followed by an 8-bit creature running back and forth across the screen. After a while it stops and begins jumping up and down until a small crack forms. "Oh crap!" touching the damage in hopes of my eyes playing tricks on me, i'm engulfed in a warm light.

* * *

Taking Latton's hand, she helps me on my feet. "How do I get home?"

"Huh?! After everything, you still want to go home?!"

"Yes! It's almost time for dinner and there's a math test tomorrow, so I need to study!"

"You're one boring kid," she crosses her arms. "Time moves differently in the digital world; one day in here is one minute out there. A world full of excitement awaits without worry of leaving your old life behind."

If time really works that way, I won't have to worry about missing anything; in fact I'll have even more time to study. I also found a fossil, who knows what else could be just lying around. "Can I bring my parents?" Everything sounds great, but the answer to this question will make or break the digital world for me.

"Another weird question... Yes, you can bring them, but I wouldn't recommend it, there are evil Digimon out, and they could get seriously hurt."

"Where is your law enforcement? My dad just got promoted to detective so he can work with them."

"We are the law enforcement and our name is Light Fang!" she tightens her fist and gives me another white smile. "We handle threats most can't do or simply ignore all in the name of justice! Are you up for the challenge? We're always looking for new recruits to make the world a better place."

Touching my goggles causes as my father's words to resonate inside me. _Any little effort can make the world a better place._ Those words make my answer obvious. "I'll join because I'm sure my father would have wanted me to."

"Now that's a normal response!" she pats my back. "You're hired!"

If I can make this world a safe enough place for my parents to come visit, this'll be my gift to Dad and I'm positive mom will love the scenery. Then we can forget about what happened this morning.

"A word of advice," Latton leans on me whispering in my ear. "I would take that Agumon; he may be a rookie, but he has a lot of guts! I'm sure he'll be a big help later on, trust me."

That Digimon's name is Aguman. I'm a little skeptical, but if she thinks it's a good idea, I'll bare with him for now.

"Well, off to the city!" she grabs my hand. "Let's get you registered!"

I'll stay in this world for sixty days; that should be an hour in real time when I usually get home. I'll try my best to accomplish my goal by then.

* * *

 _ **A quick author's note to everybody that has read my previous work Digimon Dawn: Tamer legend this is not in the same continuity this a different Koh with a different personality, backstory, and goals. I really liked his character, but not my previous story so I'm afraid to say I'll be dropping it in favor of this. I hope you all understand and that you'll like this iteration of him even more.**_


	2. Our Carefree Life

The sun's beating down as usual and for many it's an unbearable heat, but for me it's a soothing warmth. Looking at my reflection as I dip my wooden bucket into the pond I realize I could stand inside and it barely reach my ankles. How much longer do we- Light footsteps tiptoeing behind me. "No use wasting both of our times hurry up and show yourself," I crack my neck as I turn around.

A blue Digimon with a V on its forehead steps forward. It raises it's horn like nose and looks down on me with its red eyes. "I don't want to fight you, drop the bucket and leave now."

I don't want to fight. I couldn't help, but chuckle at his statement. "You already know only one of us can leave here."

He takes a step back and clenches his fist as a single bead of sweat rolls down his face. "Vee Headbutt!" his voice cracks as he springs my direction.

Hesitation is his downfall, it made his form sloppy and easy too read. "Sharp claw," ducking under I slash his exposed white belly in one swift motion. He falls to the ground leaking data from his exposed wound. Looking down on him as he begins to fade away, I take the floating data into my own body. I'm doing him a favor the weak will only suffer, but the least I can do is ask. "Your name?"

It takes him a second to gather his strength and roll over. "Vee... Mon..." He mutters with his last breath before disappearing.

"Veemon," I repeat the name over and over in my head.

* * *

"Welcome back Agumon I hope everything went without a hitch," a dinosaur similar to myself says, but instead of yellow scales he has red. "Because I can't say the same thing."

Giving Guilmon my most serious expression I cross my arms and hope it's nothing too dire. "What happened?"

"That useless booger you keep around messed up, now all of our food is gone," Guilmon slams his tail on the ground.

"Hey! I was able to save a few things!" a bouncing blue blob with large black eyes shouts.

"You think that's enough to-"

Interrupt Guilmon before he starts to rant. "Do we have enough for today," arguing won't get us anywhere.

"Yes, but we'll be scarce on food for ourselves. It'll take us days to get half of it back."

"Then let's go, we'll worry about everything else later."

"Hmph!" Guilmon pouts and grabs our remaining food which is nothing more than a few heads of lettuce.

"I'm really sorry Agumon I promise I didn't -"

I cut Chibomon short. "An apology won't fix what happened, we'll talk about it later, just stay here for now," picking up my bucket full of water I follow Guilmon.

After a few minutes of silence Guilmon strikes up a conversation. "So what happened to you today?"

Looking down at my claws I answer. "There was another Digimon at the lake, his name was Veemon."

"Hmmm, that's the fifth one this week, but it's to be expected," Guilmon scratches the back of his small wings that stand on top of his head. "Our efforts will come into fruition soon enough, then we won't have to worry about such small squabbles."

He's been saying that since we met, but things never seem to change.

* * *

When we arrive at our destination a bunch of Digimon are already there, kneeling before a green lizard with the body of an adult human male. Armed with a giant sword and two blades attached to each arm, he sits lazily on his throne. The Digimon at his feet drop a variety of fruits and meat only adding to his collection that stacks higher than a small Hill behind him. More Digimon begin emptying their water into one of the two Crystal clear lakes placed on his left and right. Honestly, he's nothing special just a weak champion who's afraid to go in other areas and better himself like a Digimon should. Instead, he stays here mainly populated by rookies and holds his power over us making life harder for everyone else. Feeling my bucket handle crack as I walk towards the lake. "I should wipe that bored expression off his face right now!"

"Dinohyumon!" everyone's eyes are now fixated on a yellow skinned lizard digimon with purple claws and a bluish pelt draped over his head. "Your tyranny ends here!" a little cheesy, but we have the same thoughts, maybe today is the day. Before I have the chance to move Guilmon puts his arm in front of me and shakes his head so I watch as the Digimon attacks. He's cleaved in half and his data absorbed in a split second as if he never existed. Dinohyumon yawns and everyone continues making their offerings.

Guilmon drops his arm. "The same would have happened to you, you're the strongest rookie there is and our only hope of freedom so you can't be deleted now."

I dump out my bucket and leave. "But the strongest rookie can't beat the weakest champion," nobody even knew the name of that deleted digimon that's such a sad way to have lived.

* * *

I'm once again greeted by a bouncing blue blob. "Agumon! Agumon!" he seems more excited than usual.

"What is it?" I ask

"A human with orange hair fell from the sky! Let's go check it out!" Chibomon dashes off before I could give an answer.

Guilmon leans over to whisper in my ear. "He could be from the union, this could be our chance for liberation," I don't keep my hopes up. They wouldn't send someone unless Dinohyumon went on a murderous rampage or their attacked. They see our issue as nothing more than natural selection.

My eyes lay on a tiny human scouring through the bushes watching Chibomon going up to it without hesitation. "Hey human!"

It lets out a scream and grabs the nearest branch. "Stay back slime," the human swings. "I played Dragon quest!"

"New to the digital world the fear in its eyes makes it obvious," I'm not disappointed because I already knew we weren't going to get help.

"I should have known with no rare Digimon to throw in their little farms they don't want to bother with our part of the digital world, let's go!" Guilmon turns around.

"Come on!" I beckon Chibomon, but he's too busy playing with the human, laughing while he dodges each swing. He'll come back when he's bored.

* * *

I look out the corner of my eye before my vision is covered by a big slab of meat on a bone. "Here I saved this for you. It's better in your stomach than lizard breaths."

"Thanks," Guilmon always does things like this, doing whatever it takes for me to be at a hundred percent. Taking the first bite I look over at him gnawing on some brownish lettuce. His blind faith in my ability always makes me feel uneasy, it's hard to hold down my food. "I'm going to see what's taking Chibomon so long."

The human sits there, hugging its knees in front of a fire. Across from it is Chibomon eating. "Wow, really good! How did you do this?!" he says with crumbs all around his mouth.

"It's called cooking," the human reluctantly answers.

"Human's really are amazing!" Chibomon stops eating and shows an expression I've never seen before. "If I were anything like you maybe I wouldn't be so useless..."

"I'm not that amazing, just an idiot who can't even remember a simple history question," the human clutches its green shorts. "But My father taught me, nobody is useless and everyone has their strengths."

"Really?"

"Of course, I mean you're looking at the best soccer player in elementary school!" it points to itself and flashes a smile. "We'll find out what you're good at together," the human holds out its hand.

"Yeah!" Chibomon's expression changes back to normal. No, his smile is genuine. Something he's never shown me before. "My name's Chibomon, what's yours?"

"Tonpei."

Chibomon inches toward the human. "Tonpei can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?"

Chibomon takes a deep breath. "There's this Digimon who's been just the biggest jerk! He thinks he's better than anybody else and it makes me so mad. Everybody's to scared to do anything, but I'm not!"

"And you want my help in taking him out," Tonpei punches his hand. "Reminds me of a certain class president, I'll be glad to, but after that you have to help me get home."

"Of course! I know where the warp pad is!"

"What's a warp pad?"

Stepping out from where I was eavesdropping, I interrupt their little talk. "Something you'll see pretty soon because I'm taking you there now."

"No! Tonpei and I are going to beat Dinohyumon!"

"Guilmon and I are handling it," I sigh.

"You always say that!" Chibomon shouts. "When are we going to fight the ruler?!"

I know how he feels, but now just is not the time. "We'll be deleted in a heartbeat if we don't plan this out first."

"I bet you're just scared!" Chibimon shouts even louder than before.

Feeling the vain pulsating on my forehead, I bare my teeth. He just doesn't understand, I'm not scared I'm playing this smart. It looks like I have to give him a wake up call! "Fine, If you're so eager to fight I'll be your opponent!"

"Tonpei step back!"

"Let's start," crossing my arms, I give Chibomon a glare and he shoots me one right back. No fear in his eyes even when facing a stronger opponent that's good, but it could be because he's facing me. He lunges and I immediately notice he's gotten faster, but unfortunately for him it's not enough. Swatting him down with the back of my hand I shout. "Deleted!" with a bright red bruise that covers up half his body, he bounces back up and glares at me once again twice as fierce as before. A smile tries creeping on my face, but I hold it back.

"Acid bubbles!" he encircles me while firing a swarm of bubbles that cloud my vision like a smokescreen.

"A move like this is best for running away," I glance left and right. "Above," jumping high in the air, I see Chibomon in my path and instead of freaking out, he stays firm. I almost forget to curl up my claws as to not puncture him. "Deleted!" he's sent flying off with an uppercut. "Don't rely on cheap tricks for victory. The weak will always lose in the face of raw power, realize this and you'll achieve rookie," why did I say that? It's clear he's unconscious, maybe I'm talking to myself.

The human comes running to pick him up. "Enough, you've made your point talking dinosaur man."

"No, he made his," I clench my fist. "He'll be out for a while, take care of him until I get back."

"Where are you going?"

"Dinohyumon."

"If you agreed with him in the first place why fight?"

"Because Chibomon was right..." Those eyes, during that battle had so much courage. I wasn't holding back when I hit him, but he still had the will too get back up. It makes me wonder will I be able to do the same. Even if we wait to beat Dinohyumon later on, I may never have his burning passion and live the rest of my life as a coward.

"I hope you're done babysitting!" Guilmon growls.

"It's time Guilmon, today's the day we face Dinohyumon."

From his expression he's shocked. "No, it isn't! We have to prepare much more! You saw what happened earlier today!"

Of course I do that memory has been on constant repeat in my mind, but. "I'm sick of waiting, I'd rather be deleted, then continue on like this. How can we expect change if we just sit around and do nothing! There will never be a right time!" this is the first time since Chibomon came along that I let my emotions show.

Guilmon just stares at me with his yellow eyes. "If you're dead set on this I guess I can put something together, maybe waiting till he's asleep or poisoning his food!"

"No, we go up to him and fight Mon to Mon."

Guilmon chuckles. "I was afraid you'd say that, I guess all our waiting was for nothing."

Has it always been this easy? Did all I have to do was ask and the only Mon holding me back was myself? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry it was such a bittersweet realization. All I could do now is face my fate for better or worse.

* * *

Now standing in front of a bored lizard man he mutters in the most monotone of voices. "What do you want?"

Something swells up inside of me at first I think it's fear, but no this is excitement! I've never felt like this before, so it took me a minute to find the words. "Your head," wow that felt great, the rush goes from my head to my toes and back again.

He lets a loud yawn. "Let's just get this over with," he stands up and I hear his bones crack as he towers over us. The surrounding Digimon simply look, not moving a muscle.

He grabs his massive sword and swings downward. Guilmon and I just barely dodge it, jumping in opposite directions. "Baby Flame!" my fireball hits his hand before he could pull out his weapon. Noticing a burn mark on the back of both hands as he rolls his wrist, Guilmon must have had the same idea.

Dinohyumon looks at us before focusing his attention to Guilmon, attacking at blinding speed. "Rock Breaker!" Guilmon slams his claws in the ground using the uneven terrain as a makeshift shield, while he burrows down below. This doesn't slow Dinohyumon down in the slightest, who effortlessly slices through cutting off the tip of Guilmon's tail with the blades on his wrist.

Every move counts! I can't give him even a second to counter! "Baby Burner!" I release a stream of flames, but he just crosses his arms and starts stepping toward me. Turning up the heat using every ounce of energy my body sweats from the heat of my own attack, but it still wasn't enough and he grabs me by my mouth stopping the flames.

His grip is so tight he's slowly crushing my jaw, all while casually wiping the soot off from his arms. Then a rock is thrown at his eye, not causing him to flinch but it did grab his attention. "You're lucky that wasn't a soccer ball or you'd be flat on your face!" it was the human with Chibomon cradled in his arms. "Now put the T-Rex down or else!"

"A human," he says as he drops me. "Did someone send in a request to the union?"

"I'm here to beat you up!" it screams and points at Dinohyumon.

"There must be some misunderstanding, I've done nothing wrong. May I ask the details of your mission over some food and water?" he gestures towards his small oasis.

"You hurt Chibomon's friends just because you're stronger! That's not right!"

"If these are your digimon then I apologize, but all my acts have been self defense."

The human kicks another rock. "Shut up! People like you use your words to justify your actions and I won't listen!"

Dinohyumon lets out a sigh. "I didn't want to have to do this, but in the name of self defense we'll battle. Please put that in your report to the union," he casually strolls towards the human. I'm not worried about that idiot human, but because of his outburst Chibomon is going to be the one to pay for it. I try moving, but the sharp pain in my jaw stops me. I've never felt more powerless than today.

"Tonpei..." Chibomon cracks open his eyes. "I can still fight..."

"No, you're in no condition, I'll handle this. If I kick a rock to his temple even a giant like him will fall."

"I don't want you to get hurt..."

"I'll be okay, I made a promise so I'll keep it. Remember, you asked for my help."

Tears swell up in Chibomon's eyes. "I'm sorry for being so useless," digging my claws into the ground I drag myself towards Chibimon.

"No you're not!" the human takes the words from my mouth. "You riled up your friends to fight! Nobody else had the courage to, but you gave them some of yours and that's a trait many can't say they have! You can't back out now and let it all go to waste."

Dinohyumon reaches out for Chibomon and the human. "Get away," a flash a green light blinds me. "From Tonpei!" when I'm able to see again what stands in front of the human is no longer the blue blob I was accustomed to. Instead there's a mini purple dragon with bat like wings attached to its hands.

"Chibo... mon?" the human says in confusion.

"No, I'm," the newly evolved digimon looks over his body before slipping into a fighting stance. "Monodramon!"

Guilmon jumps out of the ground spinning. "Rock 'n' Roll Breaker!" but the sneak attack is easily dodged with Dinohyumon jumping out of the way.

"Crack bite!" Monodramon lunges at Dinohyumon still in midair sinking his teeth into his opponent's side, causing a piece of data to go flying.

Dinohyumon clutches his side now coated in red electricity. "You little! Is this the power of Union Digimon!" looking at the surprise in his eyes I wonder if I have the same expression, but I can't get caught up in the moment because now there's a spot too hit and even his champion level body can't protect what's inside.

"Good hit Monodramon!" the human punches the air. "Now take him out with another lethal blow!"

"I won't let you!" Dinohyumon attacks, completely ignoring everything around him.

With a clear shot of his wound, I push back all the feelings of pain in my jaw and force it open, digging deep down to find the power for this attack. "Baby volcano!" as if my soul had just left me, I'm completely drained as the larger than usual fireball flies true to its mark, hitting Dinohyumon who blows up in a burst of data that scatters everywhere. The remaining Digimon look in awe still not fully processing what just happened. Too weak to absorb the data I just lay face down, basking in our victory, glancing over to see Monodramon hugging the human and smiling. The floating data then takes the shape of a white Digi egg with lime green spots. This is the realization to the other digimon that it's really over. They start grabbing as much food as they can hold and run off.

"We're finally free," Guilmon sits next to me. "I guess today was the day," he smiles.

"Agumon, Guilmon are you okay?" Monodramon asks alongside the human.

"There were a few collateral damages," Guilmon wags his tail missing the tip. "But I'm fine, though I can't say the same for Agumon over here."

"That's good," Monodramon lets out a sigh of relief. He then starts to scratch his cheek. "Well, since you're fine I'm going to take Tonpei to the warp pad."

"Alright hurry back, I'll need help healing Agumon."

"Well," the human hits Monodramon with his elbow and gives him a nod. "Since Dinohyumon is gone, I thought it was a good idea to stay in the union with... Tonpei!" my eyes widen. "I mean, I just feel like Tonpei and I formed a bond," but what about us you can't leave! "So I guess this is goodbye for now, I wish you guys the best!"

"NO!" where am I getting this strength from? I'm somehow standing on my feet. Maybe because I know deep down, If Monodramon leaves now he'll never come back. "You can't go."

"Sorry Agumon," he let's out a chuckle. "I've known you since I hatched so this is really hard to do, but it feels right. I promise I'll become strong and make you proud," he holds out his hand.

I immediately swat it away. "You're not going anywhere!" he's the light in my life, a fact I didn't realize until now, if he leaves I know I'll turn back into the same coward from before. I won't let that happen even if I have to fight. "Sharper claw!"

Monodramon's eyes sharpen as he curls up his hand into a fist. "Beat Knuckle!" when our blows cross everything goes black.

* * *

Waking up with my body covered in bandages and feeling better than expected, I roll my head and see Guilmon. "Looks like you finally woke up."

"How long have I been out?" I ask.

"A few days," Guilmon answers.

The answer is obvious, but I still ask my next question. "Monodramon?"

Guilmon takes a minute to answer this time. "Long gone."

"Why did it turn out like this..." Is all I could mutter.

"Who knows, everything happens for a reason," Guilmon smiles. "No use worrying about it when our carefree life starts now."

"How can I live a carefree life without Monodramon?" I ask myself.

"It's a regretful reduction, but he doesn't want to stay here and he's ready to fight back. You should know first hand how strong he's gotten. It doesn't help he went to the union he could be champion by now."

"Of course!" ripping the bandages off I jump up. "The only reason I lost was because he had a human. If I also had a tamer I could be stronger as well!"

Guilmon grabs me by my wrist. "Wait, there's no telling what'll happen if you find a human! You could end up a pile of data! Let's live together just the two of us. like before Monodramon came along."

"It'll never be the same Guilmon, not without him," Guilmon let's go. "I'll come back just wait."

"I've already waited for so long! I endured, planned, and struggled just so we could be together without worry!" Guilmon takes a deep breath before slowly exhailing. "I can't guarantee things will be the same between us when you come back."

Maybe one day he'll understand how important this is to me, but I can't waste many words on him right now time is ticking. "That's just the risk I'll have to take," a flash of light catches my eye, I look up to see destiny calling a human with goggles on top its head falling from the sky. I'll make him my partner whether he wants to or not. Using him as nothing more than a tool to get stronger.

* * *

 _ **I hope everybody enjoyed the Agumon chapter. I would like to thank BEST OC Maker or Gigabyte and D1g1m0ncrazy for reviewing my story. If you would like to leave a review yourself feel free to do so asking any question or leaving any comments you may have!**_


	3. We should all be friends

_"I think this room has driven me insane? I'm sick of being surrounded by these, these... children that have no sense of discipline! Everyone's laughing, playing, and joking around when they should be waiting patiently for the next Tamer to walk through that door. The flickering light doesn't help either, I filed a report on it a week ago and no ones come to fix it yet!"_ Tuning everything out I let out a sigh and close my eyes.

"Patamon," an annoyingly familiar voice calls out my name as it rocks me back and forth. "Hey Patamon!" the shaking stops thankfully, but then I hear an inhale. "PATAMON ARE YOU SLEEPING!"

"NO!" opening my eyes, the pest in front of me is the usual annoyance Hawkmon. "Now what do you want?!"

The bald eagle with red feathers and a belt around his forehead does an annoyingly sloppy salute. "I came to play!"

"No thank you!" I turn away with a violent twist.

Hawkmon crosses his arms. "Don't be like that, I saw you over here pouting."

I turn back around so he can clearly see my face. "I was making no such expression!"

"You were, it looked like this!" Hawkmon pulls his cheeks down, making an over exaggerated frown in a poor attempt to mimic me.

I'm not letting him get to me, I'll be the bigger mon. "Go bother someone else, I already have a big enough headache without you."

"Boo, you're no fun!" Hawkmon shows a more genuine pout as he drags his feet away.

"Finally," letting out a sigh of relief, I begin to wonder why Hawkmon acts this way? No other Digimon bothers me except him and it's the same antics everyday. While I'm thinking of an answer the door slowly creeps open which could only mean one thing.

"I hope this is the correct room?" a small human girl pokes her head in and scans the area before stepping inside. Sapphire blue hair tied up in a ponytail with a red bow, her body wrapped up in a white watanosato over a long sleeve orange shirt making it obvious she's of Japanese descent. Following in behind her is Salamon, a dog with white fur and a holy ring around her neck.

Nobody answers, instead bombarding the poor girl all at once before she can even take another step. Some fly over her head while others cling to her leg, repeating the same phrase over and over. "Please pick me!" like a bunch of puppies at a shelter.

Does anybody follow procedures around here? "Hello young Tamer and welcome to the room of beginnings," flying just high enough to make eye contact, I give my biggest smile. "Here you can select up to three partner Digimon if you may so choose."

The small girl grabs my waist and pulls my body into her arms. "You're Salamon's friend right? I wouldn't want anything happening to you."

"We're acquaintances, yes," what is she talking about? "Um, before you can actually pick your partners, we must first see if you're worthy of becoming a Tamer," I look over at a table and she immediately gets the hint. Walking over with me still cradled in her arms the other Digimon eagerly follow behind. "A digivice will only react to someone with high potential. Anybody could fall into the digital world, but not everybody can-"

"My favorite color!" she picks up the gray digivice before I could finish talking. It turns white, with the three buttons located in the center and the thin outline tracing the small green screen turning sapphire.

A blue color similar to her hair, interesting. No two digivices are the same each has their own unique combination of colors that line up with their personality. "Congratulations, you're officially a Tamer now!"

"Oh, that's cool, are you ready to go?" I'm caught off guard by her nonchalant attitude.

Looking down at Salamon she simply shrugs her shoulders. "Let's just leave then..."

As she walks towards the door the remaining Digimon all sulk off. A smile then creeps on her face when she touches the door knob. "Hey Patamon you said I could have up to three Digimon right?"

"Yes! The reason for this is because-"

I'm interrupted once again by the girl with blue hair. "Then let's make this fun! The first Digimon to walk through this door will be my third partner," she slides through the door and gives a wink before shutting it. "No flying."

I could hear all their mismatched footsteps rapidly growing louder before the door swings open and everyone tries cramming through it. Hawkmon is the first to slip through, but his victory is cut short as he slides down the hallway crashing into the wall. The others have no time to react with each one following suit. "Oh man I can't believe they fell for that!" the girl burst into laughter as she watches it all go down.

"What did you do!?" this crime scene has me in complete shock.

She completely ignores me and puts a strange ring on her middle finger. "Congratulations to the winner," the girl holds out her hand to help up Hawkmon.

He grabs her hand and sparks of electricity fly from his body as he begins jumping around in pain. "I don't get the joke," Hawkmon groans.

"You hopefully will one day my little partner, but for now there's no time to waste these pranks won't pull themselves!" The girl skips off as I fly out her hand and next to Salamon.

"What's wrong with this girl?" Is all I could ask.

Salamon glares at me with her emerald green eyes. "That girl's name is Kenpa and I find her to be rather interesting!"

Giving Salamon a glare of my own I ask my next question. "Why she's obviously a trouble maker?!"

"Just see for yourself," Salamon picks up her pace to walk beside Kenpa.

Does she know something I don't? Maybe an affinity for battle or a natural born leader in the fields. "I guess I'm not doing anything else and this could prove to be beneficial."

Hawkmon rubs his yellow beak as he stumbles behind. "Wait for me guys."

"So what are we going to do first, maybe some missions at the quest counter?" I ask the obvious first step for any Tamer.

Kenpa smiles with her fingers intertwining behind her back. "Nope, I'm thinking of pulling a few more pranks to see what I can accomplish here in the digital world!"

"What are pranks?" Hawkmon scratches the back of his head.

"I'm glad you asked!" Kenpa holds up two fingers. "A prank is a physical joke that can be separated in two parts preparation and execution," she wiggles her fingers back and forth.

"The first step is obviously to prepare, finding who to prank and how, using whatever tools necessary to get a good laugh," Salamon chimes in. Where did she even learn this?

"So the next step is execution, which means to... Carry out the plan?" Hawkmon struggles to define the simple word.

Kenpa ruffles the top of his head. "Exactly!" Hawkmon puffs out his chest with pride as if he actually accomplished something.

I let out a heavy sigh. "So what is the point of these juvenile acts?"

"To get a good laugh Patamon, pay attention!" Hawkmon answers.

Kenpa snaps her fingers and winks. "Correct, that's two brownie points for Hawkmon!" she sticks out her tongue and forms an O with her hands. "And zero for Patamon!"

Hearing Hawkmon chuckle I can feel my face heat up. "Let's just get started!"

"That's the spirit!" Salamon bumps into me with a smirk. When did she become so annoying?

"Alright, now who's are first victim team?!" Kenpa forms binoculars with her hands, as she scans the Tamer crowded area. When she locks onto a boy wearing a light yellow cap with a matching colored jacket and green shorts, her usual wide smile appears. Although I haven't known her long I can tell it's a common trend she does whenever an idea pops into her head. "Hey Salamon can you get me a few things?"

"Yes, ma'am. Do you also need to know some secluded locations nearby?"

Kenpa hands Salamon a list of items that she just wrote and then scratches behind her ear, causing her foot to repeatedly kick with pleasure. "If you could, that be great! Hawkmon can you help her out please?"

"Of course," Hawkmon flies after Salamon.

"Now Patamon your job is to follow that Tamer while we're waiting for supplies and I set everything up," Kenpa says.

Flying out of the tight grip she had me in I hover just over her head. "No, I refuse to have any part of this!"

Kenpa gives me puppy dog eyes and clasps her hands together. "And you won't, I promise all you have to do is keep watch, nothing else!"

Maybe if I see this as a team building exercise. "Fine, but if things get out of hand, I'll be the one to stop it."

Kenpa throws a peace sign as I fly off. "Thanks Patamon!"

* * *

Following the unsuspecting victim for nearly an hour, watching him go about his activities, I start to feel bad wanting nothing more than to tell him he has a big target on his back, but before I could I see Kenpa out the corner of my eye. She's flailing her arms alongside Hawkmon and Salamon.

Kenpa grabs me once again. "Everything's set now let's go!" she walks up to the boy with a huge smile. "Hey, excuse me!"

"Yes?" the yellow capped Tamer turns around in confusion.

"You look really strong! I'm a new Tamer here and was wondering if you could give me some pointers?" Kenpa bats her eyelashes.

The boy scratches his red cheek. "Well, I did just become a Bronze Tamer."

"Really!" Kenpa gets uncomfortably close to his face making it even redder. "I knew I saw something special in you, please teach me!"

"I g... Guess there a few things I could help with," the boy stutters.

"But," Kenpa twiddles her thumbs as she looks down. "I'm a little embarrassed, so could we do this in private?"

"Of course!" the yellow capped Tamer quickly responds.

"Thank you so much! You're the best!" Kenpa grabs him by the wrist and starts leading him somewhere. "Let's go!"

Our destination is an alleyway in-between two shops, it's very dark, but surprisingly clean.

"Here?" the yellow capped Tamer looks around.

"Yep, it's perfect," as if planned from the start Salamon rams into the boy at full speed and onto the alley ground.

"Huh?!" the yellow capped Tamer tries to get up, but he seems stuck by a white goo.

"Looks like you're in a sticky situation!" Hawkmon uses the feather ornament on his head like a boomerang to cut a rope that dangles above our heads. A bucket of orange paint falls onto the Tamer's head and splatters everywhere, adding a bright color to the once dreary alleyway.

Kenpa laughs, Hawkmom laughs, and even Salamon turns her head to let out a chuckle, but after a minute they simply walk off as the boy continues trying to break free. "Come back here!" he shouts.

"Now who's next?" Kenpa scans the area again with her imaginary binoculars.

"Next? We're still doing these childish antics!" I'm sick of it! Time to put my foot down!

"Come on Patamon don't be a party pooper," Kenpa says.

"Every party needs a pooper that's why we invited you!" Hawkmon sings.

Salamon walks up to me. "It's harmless fun, calm down."

Stomping my foot down I demand an answer. "Why are you defending this heathen!"

"You have one more time to call her something other than her given name of Kenpa!" Salamon shoots me a glare that sends a slight shiver down my spine, but I'll never admit that to her. "And if you must know why I defend her it's because I truly believe she's my fated partner!"

A little vigor has left my voice hopefully unnoticed. "You barely even know her!"

"I guess unless it happens to you, you wouldn't understand," Salamon scoffs at me before walking off. "Let's find our next target."

"How about him?" Hawkmon points to a boy with spiky blonde hair, wearing baggy green jeans and a black jacket two sizes too big. Even though the sleeves were rolled up his hands still couldn't be seen. Sitting next to him is a green turtle Digimon with a blue camouflage helmet and an orange stomach.

"Oh, perfect! Good job Hawkmon!" Kenpa gives the blushing red eagle a thumbs up. "Now what kind of prank should we pull?" she looks the boy and his Digimon up and down watching as they bob their heads back and forth in sync before snapping her fingers.

Kenpa whispers something to the others in a small huddle leaving me out the conversation. "What are you three scheming? Stop it now!" a fact I've gotten used to,  
they ignore me completely.

"I won't let you down!" Hawkmon flies off.

"That's it, I'm putting a stop to this," and the best way to do that is by simply telling the boy.

Kenpa grabs me by the legs. "Oh no you don't!"

"Let go!" I try to break free, but she's strong.

"Be patient, this should be fairly quick," Salamon tiptoes toward the blonde boy.

Hawkmon is behind their target unnoticed. He sneakily pulls the headphone jack out of their CD player and runs off. "Huh?" the blonde boy tries pressing buttons on the CD player before his digimon picks up the headphone jack in confusion.

"Puppy Howling!" Salamon lets out a super-high pitched bark right in front of the blonde boy knocking him back. That had to have hurt, because even my ears are ringing and I'm a little distance away.

"That really blew him away, he must have liked it!" Kenpa laughs as she finally lets go of me.

The blonde Tamer sits back up with his hair spiked and his Digimon without its helmet. "That was a death growl!" the boy shouts cutting their laughter short. "I definitely want to listen to some heavy metal now!"

"What?" Question marks are metaphorically floating around Kenpa's head and before she could grasp the situation the blonde boy runs up to her.

"Yo, my name is Cheetah and this is Kamemon!" the blonde boy announces with a single earbud dangling down. "You are inspirational!"

"Yea everybody else in the city is bor-ing," Kamemon does a fake yawn.

"I... I was just pulling a... Prank on you guys..." I've never seen Kenpa so timid it's kind of unsettling.

"You hear that Cheetah, a prank!" Kamemon jumps up and down with joy.

"What's running through your mind when you're pulling these pranks? How do you pick the people to prank? Ah, my head is spinning like a record, I want to listen to rap now!" Cheetah spits all this out like a verbal machine gun.

Kamemon asks. "Can we watch you pull your pranks?"

"Umm, I don't..." Kenpa mutters.

"Hey!" the Tamer from earlier comes stumbling up with the bucket still on his head. "You think you're funny!"

"Was this another of your pranks?!" Kamemon asks.

"The orange paint is really colorful and pops out, maybe pop music would go great with this situation?" Cheetah presses his CD player to cycle through his songs.

"I'll teach you what happens when you make fun of your superiors!" the boy pulls out his digivice and if he's a Bronze Tamer like he claims then a champion level digimon will soon appear, meaning we should run. Even Kenpa realizes this and takes a step back.

But before the boy could call out his partner a hand grabs him by the wrist. "What did you think you were about to do?" behind the yellow capped Tamer is a boy with dark orange hair and a small purple dragon next to him.

"And who are you!" the Tamer breaks free from the grip.

"The name's Tonpei and Monodramon," he states confidently. A Monodramon is semi-rare just who is this kid. "Now I'm going to ask again what were you about to do?"

"About to teach this girl a lesson, what's it to you!" the capped Tamer responds angrily.

Monodramon growls. "We don't like people who bully the weak!"

"Or attack girls in general dad really beat that into me. You see a girl in trouble help her out no matter what," Tonpei cracks a smile.

"You see what she did to me!" the Tamer yells as he points to the bucket.

"It's a joke learn how to take one," Tonpei chuckles.

"You think you can stop me, I'm a bronze Tam-"

Tonpei grabs the boy by his collar, lifting him slightly off the ground. "I don't care if you're bronze, silver, or even gold. You try to attack her and I'll fight you until one of us is deleted!" he glares at the boy with his black eyes before dropping him flat on his ass.

"Tsk, you guys aren't worth it..." the Tamer fixes his hat and storms off.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tonpei stuffs his hands in his pockets and strolls toward Kenpa.

"Yeah..." Kenpa mutters.

"A real life hero type, I'm feeling it!" Cheetah slides in-between the two. "The name's Cheetah and you my man oozes coolness like a jazz player!"

"Thanks I guess?" Tonpei scratches the back of his head in confusion. " Just doing what I was taught, nothing really special."

As they were talking Salamon and Hawkmon decide to check on Kenpa themselves. ""Are you okay?"" they run up and say in unison.

"Yes, it's just..." Kenpa covers her face. "Nobody has really stood up for me before or even liked my jokes... So I don't know how to act or what to do."

"Oh that's easy! We should all be friends!" Hawkmon says absurdly loud getting everyone's attention.

Kenpa turns instantly red. "No Hawkmon we can't just-"

"Now that's a head banging idea!" Cheetah shouts. "Hopefully we have a friendship is power hero and not a loner type!"

"What do you want Monodramon?" Tonpei looks down at his partner.

"I don't think having comrades is a bad idea," Monodramon answers.

"Well, you heard him," Tonpei holds out his hand.

Cheetah puts his hand on top of Tonpei's and they both stare at Kenpa who holds her hands close to her chest. "It's okay," Salamon pushes her partner with a smile as Kenpa stretches out her hand connecting the three Tamers both metaphorically and physically.

All I know is this isn't a group I want to be around. "Where are you going Patamon?" Salamon asks.

"I'm going back to go wait for a more worthy Tamer," I respond. "Hopefully someone who takes the mission seriously."

"Don't be like that," Kenpa pouts.

My mouth starts moving before I could even think. "That Tamer should have taught you a little lesson, then maybe you would be more serious and stop fooling around."

Hawkmon gasp. "How could you say those things?"

It's too late I'm already caught in the moment. "Why are you wanting to be partners with someone who pulled a prank on you when you first met?"

"Because no one else has complimented me like Kenpa!" Hawkmon says with tears in his eyes. "I thought you of all people would understand the need to feel appreciated!"

"I think you're right, it's time for you to leave," Salamon pats Hawkmon on the back.

I'm not stopping now. "If we're talking about not understanding, then Salamon is just as guilty! We were personally raised by the leader of Light Fang to be elite partners! We have a responsibility others don't and you're throwing it all away!"

"I've already found my partner," is all she says. Fine, I don't care!

* * *

As I return to that irritating room I'm greeted with laughter. "Welcome back Patamon," the Digimon doesn't even try to hide the sarcasm in its voice.

It's best to ignore these children. "You stayed out longer than usual."

Because I know Chief Glare will take me away from here one day, to continue raising me to my full potential. "How many Tamers does this make?"

Their harassment is ceased by the door opening. The person that walks through the door is Vice Chief Litton! "Yo!" she smiles and waves. Could today be the day? "I just personally wanted to see if this kid has what it takes to be a Tamer."

A boy with blue goggles and light... Ugh orange hair walks in carrying a yellow dinosaur on his back. Personally, I'm sick of that color for today, but protocols are protocols. "Hello young Tamer and welcome to the room of beginnings."

The other Digimon waste no time to crowd the boy with their usual babbling. "Please pick me!"

"Um, hello!" the boy nervously bows almost dropping the Digimon on his back.

Forcing the biggest smile I could muster after today, I repeat the exact same words from earlier. "Here you can select up to three partner Digimon if you may so choose."

"Wow, three!" the boy says with excitement. "That'll make things go way faster!"

"Before you can actually pick your partner, we must first see if you're worthy of becoming a Tamer," I glance over at the table with one less digivice than earlier.

The boy doesn't get the hint needing an elbow to the shoulder from Litton. "Oh, you want me to go over here," all the other Digimon follow close behind.

"A digivice will only react to someone with high potential. Anybody could fall into the digital world, but not everybody can be Tamers," I'm shocked I was actually able to finish my sentence. "Now pick up a digivice and let's see if it reacts to you."

The boy slowly reaches out, his shaking hand as everybody stares intensely. He picks up the digivice and nothing happens for a second, then it turns pitch black. The three buttons located in the center and the thin outline tracing the small green screen turn a dark shade of orange. "It changed color!" the boy holds up his digivice.

Sweat covers my whole body as I shake like a leaf midair. The color black is associated with fear of the unknown, death, evil, and mystery. The color connected with the emotion, grief. On top of that his skim is a reddish-orange, which corresponds to desire, domination, aggression, and thirst for action. "Ah... Um..." my voice won't come out, maybe because I'm breathing so heavily.

A slap on the boy's back breaks the silence. "Good job kiddo!" Litton congratulates the new Tamer.

"Thanks Ms. Latton!" who the hell is Latton!? "Does this mean I can pick two more Digimon since I already technically have one?" This idiot! Can't he see every Digimon in the room is cowering far away from him, except for me who's paralyzed with fear !

"Let's just stick to one. Focus on raising those two, then come back later for your third if need be!" Litton gives her advice and the boy looks directly at me.

My heart stops and my vision fades to black. I'm no longer in the place I once was, the scenery is blurry. _**"Keep going!"**_ a male voice echoes from an unrecognizable silhouette. The only distinguishable item is a black and orange digivice in his left hand.

To my right I see a Digimon already beaten to an inch of its life. "We can't..." that's my voice, it's coming from my mouth, but I'm not saying that.

 _ **"Then I'll just have to make you!"**_ the silhouette reaches out for me getting slightly bigger as it comes closer!

AHHHHHH! "Patamon!" Litton shakes me furiously snapping me out of my internal screaming. I take a ton of rapid breaths before calming down. "Listen to what he has to say," she winks.

The boy straightens his goggles and clears his throat. "My name is Koh and I would like to make history here in the digital world!" Koh paces back and forth. "By being the Tamer who eliminates all evil in order to make a peaceful Utopia where anybody can live freely and happily!" he stops pacing to hold up his index finger.

"He was coming up with this speech on the walk here!" Litton snickers. "This is the best part!"

"But unfortunately has informed me that I myself can not turn into and or become one with a Digimon!" It's official this kid is a bonafide idiot. Koh then points his finger to me. "Which is why I need your assistance! So what do you say partner?"

"I knew the Tamer from your past life Patamon, Koh is nothing like him deep down you and I both know that," she's right, I'm not scared anymore, annoyed maybe, but the shaking has stopped. "Koh is the first step in overcoming your trauma and until you overcome that hurdle you'll never truly get stronger."

I don't know if it's because of my duty as a Light Fang Digimon or my deep fear of my past life, but I'll agree. "Alright, I'll help, you seem to have respectable goals."

"Nice, my team is coming together nicely. Our first order of business is secure us a living facility," Koh clasps his hands.

"Oh, you're thinking of a Tamer home. Everyone is assigned one, all you have to do is link your digivice to a pink warp pad," I explain.

"Thanks for the information..." Koh tries to remember my name which he can't, since I haven't introduced myself yet.

"Patamon, the pleasure is all yours," Koh tries shaking my hand, but I instinctively move out the way, refusing to have another panic attack so soon.

"Alright Potomon let's head home and get some rest!" that wasn't remotely close to what I just said.

"It's Patamon," it's best to correct him now.

"That's what I said Potomon," is he doing this on purpose.

"Okay say it with me-" I'm interuptted by the lizard Digimon waking up.

"Ugh, lucky shot," he rubs his head with a groan.

"Aguman you're awake!" Well, at least it's not just me. "I know we got off to a rocky start, but if Latton says you're okay then I'll be glad to accept you in my goal to-"

Agumon swats Koh's path as he got closer. "Don't get cozy with me, I don't care about your goals, you just need to make me stronger tool!"

"Hey, you shouldn't talk to your Tamer like that," I interprut.

"And who are you pipsqueak?" Agumon looms over me in an attempt at intimedation.

Flying up to make eye contact I proudly announce. "A Digimon of Light Fang and your new superior!"

"Don't make me laugh, I don't need a city Mon to help me get stronger, now don't get in my way before I skewer you!" Agumon raises his claws.

I puff out my chest. "You dirty wild Mon think you're so tough until someone knocks you down a peg!"

"And that's enough," Litton pushes a button on Koh's digivice and sucks Agumon inside of it.

Agumon bangs on the digivice from inside the screen. "Hey, let me out of here!"

"Now who's the pipsqueak!" Hovering over the six inch digivice feels so good.

"I'll teach Koh how to let you out, but he'll only do so after you promise to behave," Agumon doesn't like Litton's statement and tries breaking free again.

"A good start to the team," heh that's something I can actually agree with the kid on.


	4. First impressions are important

_My first time waking up in the digital world, and I can't say I'm disappointed. The smell of salt water that lingers in the air is carried evenly throughout my home thanks to the cool summer breeze. That same water crashing against the rocks makes a soothing sound. The beating sun isn't a problem because even though I hate the heat, I'm given shade by the palm trees that are scattered everywhere. A wooden cabin like this is usually only for rich people overseas; I would have never thought I could enjoy it myself._

"It's seven o'clock Tamer you should be awake by now," Potomon comes flapping next to my bed.

"Way too slow Potomon, I've been up for awhile appreciating this view!" putting my hands on my hips I flash a bright smile.

"It's Patamon..." huh? Isn't that what I said?

"Yep, Potamon!" repeating what I said last time maybe he didn't hear me.

"Let's just get started," Potamon rolls his eyes probably trying to think of what we're going to do next.

"No need to hurt yourself thinking Potamon I've already planned the whole day out!" with my hands still on my hips I raise one to give him a thumbs up.

"Yay..." Hmph, my little-winged partner can barely hold his excitement, it's too be expected we are making history.

Tightening my fist, I shout my next announcement. "We slay some evil Digimon!" gleefully stroking my chin while I explain my plan. "I was thinking we wonder the digital world in search of rumors of possible thieves or tyrants."

"Or we can go to the mission counter," what Potamon just said kind of sounds like something from one of those silly video games.

My natural curiosity is getting the better of me. "Explain please."

"It's what you want, but less work. Digimon comes directly to the union with their problems," this will make things much easier for us!

"And you decide what's important or not!" Aguman shouts from my digivice.

Potamon scoffs. "We can't help with every little thing."

"Yeah, you only help when things have gotten to the point of no return!" Aguman seems to be getting very upset.

Potamon shakes his head. "You don't understand anything."

"I understand the second I get out of here you're data!" Aguman slams his claws on the screen.

"Alright you two break it up," no need for infighting this early on. "Let's focus on the task at hand."

"You stay out of this! Tools shouldn't speak unless ordered too!" someone gets cranky in the morning. Hopefully, he'll cool off later on.

"So where's this mission counter Potamon?" I ask.

It takes him a second to answer. "I'll show you."

* * *

 _We arrive at an enormous building, not necessarily tall, but broad for sure. The walls filled with holographic posters that each read something different; I'm assuming these are the missions. My adrenaline is kicking in I honestly don't know where to start. All I know is that once I'm finished these walls will be empty!_

 _"_ Are you going to pick a mission or continue to make that weird expression at the entrance?" Potamon interrupts my train of thought. Was I making a weird expression?

"Right!" to make my mark I need to start big! "Perfect!" picking up a mission I run over to the counter. Casually sitting there is a teen wearing a grey tank top with light brown skin and spiky black hair. I can't wait to see Potamon's face when we accept this mission.

The teen puts down the magazine he was reading and squints his already slanted eyes as he scans me up and down. "No," is all he says before continuing to read his magazine.

"Why not?!" I'm confused, did I do something wrong? Is there another step?

The teen flips to his next page. "I've been working here for a few years now and have never seen you before," he blows a large pink bubble that pops in my face. "Try taking on a one-star mission rookie."

"One-star mission? What's that?" I ask the counter attendant.

Potamon flies over my shoulder and looks at the mission I picked out before letting out a sigh. "You chose a four-star mission."

"I think so?"

Potamon takes a deep breath. "There's a ranking system here in the union, so young Tamers like yourself don't meet an untimely demise. Normal, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, each rank usually corresponds to a Digimon's level. A normal Tamer like yourself would usually have rookie level Digimon and be doing one-star missions. A bronze Tamer would have champion level Digimon and be doing two-star missions and so on."

"Argh, so you're saying I'm stuck with the grunt work until I get promoted!" ruffling my hair in frustration, I let out a loud groan.

"Basically," Potamon responds.

My motivation can't waver now! "Every little thing counts!" throwing the previous mission to the wind I start scouring the missions once more looking for a one-star poster that stands out. "Can we do this mission?"

Potamon begins to read aloud. "Our food supply is being constantly stolen by Goblimon, and we're too weak to stop him. We're beginning to die out with only a few of us remaining. Please, Light Fang, send a capable Tamer to save us!"

That sounds way cooler aloud than in my head! "So, what do you think? It only has one star."

"A rookie level Digimon causing trouble to what I assume to be an in-training level village," Potamon nods his head. "This shouldn't be too hard, I approve."

"Alright!" slamming the mission on the counter the fire in my eyes ignite once again.

"Hmm," the spiky-haired teen puts down his magazine. "Hand your digivice to me," as I eagerly pull out my digivice, I notice the counter attendant hesitates for a second to grab it.

"Is there a problem?" what could be wrong now?

"Black?" the attendant says aloud. "I've never seen this color before," the teen slides my digivice into a slot, and as he does, others begin looking at me from all across the room.

"Yeah, I think it's a cool color like a Black Knight!" is it a rare color, am I some chosen one?!

"Don't get a big head it's just a color!" the teen throws my digivice back at me after a few minutes.

"Thanks! Now off we g-" Huh? I'm suddenly falling, I try catching myself, but I'm not fast enough and land on my face.

Standing over me is a gorilla with golden fur and a pale blue face. "Watch where you're going human, or next time I'll bash your face in!" the look in this Digimon's eyes is pure hatred, I can tell he's deadly serious.

"Hanumon! What has gotten into you?" a boy around my age with a bright yellow cap holds back his snarling Digimon. "Sorry about that he usually doesn't act this way."

Every Digimon has either an angry or fearful expression on their faces and they all point towards me. "It's no problem I was in a rush!" picking up the bone that tripped me I hand it to the Tamer trying my best not to make eye contact with his or any Digimon as I dash to the door. The Digimon were giving me funny looks, but not the humans. The conclusion is obvious; I must smell terrible! Better take two showers here in the digital world.

* * *

Standing tall and proud in front of a sizeable teal warp pad is two Tamers positioning parallel to each other wearing matching police-like uniforms. "Do you have business beyond this point?" one of Tamers asks.

"Yes here for my first mission located in Login Mountain!" eagerly pulling out my digivice I hold it up centimeters away from his face.

"Alright you're good to go," the security guard says. Both of them move out of my path in perfect sync.

Stepping on the portal my vision switched from the city to a rocky terrain outside in an instant. Small huts made of sticks and leaves are sitting on the base of the mountain. This view brings back memories, I mean I've never seen something like this before, but Dad promised that once he got some time off he'd take the family there and we'd see who found the most fossils. I couldn't help, but chuckle because he made that promise a few years ago. "This is going to be the first place I take him!"

"Are you done? We need to hurry and make contact with the village leader," Potamon is such a great partner! He has the mission in mind.

"Welcome to our humble village young Tamer," a pink blob with long ears and red eyes greets us. "Have you come to help?"

A closer look at the pink blob I notice heavy bags under his eyes and small purple bruises. "Yes, your personal Light Fang members are here to handle the situation!"

"Thank you so much," the pink blob lets out a raspy voice but is still forcing himself to smile. "Sorry for inconveniencing you, we tried our best to stop Goblimon ourself, but he was too much. We lost a lot of our villagers including our real leader," his smile slowly fades with each word.

Alright, now I'm more fired up! "Leave everything to me! You have my word I'll make him wish he was never born or uh made!" crap why'd I mess up at the end.

"Do you know where Goblimon is located?" Potamon asks a great question!

"Yes he's located at a small opening in the middle of the mountain, you can't miss it," the pink blob answers.

"Alright, we'll be right back!" waving goodbye, I bolt out the hut.

* * *

Running up the mountain's path wasn't such a good idea, I'm exhausted and breathing slowly because of the high altitude. The only upside was I saw a pterodactyl fossil in perfect condition, almost twisting my ankle gawking at it. I wanted to stop, but we're on a mission, so I'll have to mark its location mentally. Arriving at our destination Gablimon sits crisscross as he eats from a pile of food. "Surrender now, and we'll go easy on you!"

The green Digimon with a tuft of red hair on his head turns around. "Huh?" Meat juices are dripping from his chin. What freaked me out is his one massive eyeball but with two hazel pupils.

"I don't repeat myself! Potamon!" my winged partner flies in the direction of the enemy.

"Hmm, after meal exercise," Gablimon grabs a wooden club with four metal bolts sticking out.

"Hey, tool let me out! Digimon like him piss me off!" Agumon growls from my digivice.

"Potamon and I can handle this, you're still in time out," Ms. Latton told me only to let him out once he's calmed down.

Gablimon bashes his club over Potamon's head slamming him into the ground. Tiny red zeros and ones oozed out my partner's temple similar to blood. "Heh, doesn't look like it," Aguman smirks.

"Shut up! Potamon use those wings of yours to get some distance!" Potamon wobbles up with one of his eyes only half open.

It takes Potamon a long time to get in the air which seems weird because Gablimon is just watching it happen. "Goburi strike!" a ball of fire forms in Gablimon's free hand and he throws it at Mach speed shooting Potamon out the sky.

"Crap!" running at my top speed, I dive to catch the falling Potamon only barely reaching.

Gablimon burps as he walks towards us. "Workout is done, time for data."

"Looks like you need some help," Aguman teases. "Maybe if you beg I'll save your lives."

"There might be no choice." My shaking hand reluctantly reaches for my digivice.

"Goblimon is #053 in union database and is an Attacker-class Beast species Digimon with a resistance to the Earth element and a weakness to the Light element. If they come to a disadvantage, they flee as fast as they can!" a boy with a dirty blonde bowl cut walks up the mountain path. His orange button up covers his dark blue shirt, and his eyes match the light blue jeans he's wearing. Next to him is a giant pink shell?

"In summary now that it's two against one you are finished!" the pink shell opens up and out pops a green slime with big yellow eyes and a cat-like smile.

"Can your Digimon still fight?" the blonde boy asks.

"Potamon are you okay?" I wipe off the black soot that covers his once white underbelly.

"Put me down; I can still fight!" if he says so, I place him gently on the ground with some of the red data still dripping from his head now on my hands.

"We'll attack on three," the blonde boy states.

Giving the boy a side glance, I wonder if all he's doing is adding to the collateral damage. "I'm not too sure that'll work, we just got wrecked, um..."

"My name's Pulsa and trust me I read up on our Target before coming here. If you were paying attention you'd know once we attack together he'll start running, and that's when we attack from behind," Pulso oozes confidence, so I have no reason to doubt him.

"Alright on three," let's hope this works because if it doesn't...

"One... Two... Three!" Potamon dashes towards Gablimon much slower and less steady than last time. "Syakomon, use Black Pearl!"

The green blob spits out three black Pearls in rapid succession, but instead of hitting Gablimon they hit Potamon in the ass! "Hey, watch what you're doing!" Pulso and I say in unison.

Pulso squeezes the arc of his nose. "When I said attack together I meant from a distance."

"Well, you didn't say that! Next time gives better instructions before looking down on me!" this kid obviously doesn't know what he's doing, I guess it's my fault for trusting a stranger.

"Whatever, just use a long-range special attack," Pulso rolls his eyes.

I hate to ask, but "How do I do that?"

"Are you serious?!" Pulso shouts. "You are a noob!" he snatches my digivice away from me and starts pressing buttons. Looking over at Gablimon I assume he's not attacking because he doesn't see us as a threat. "Here's a list of Patamon's attacks."

Squinting at the small words at my digivice, I read the description of each attack. "Alright, let's try this again!" hopefully, this will change the outcome of our battle. "Air shot!"

"Water screw!" Syakamon blasts out a stream of water at the same time Potamon sucks in the surrounding air and spews out an air shot in one burst. The attacks collide and cancel each other out before reaching our target.

"Crap!" after using his special move Potamon plops onto the ground probably drained from his injuries.

"Should we continue our assault Pulsa?" Syakamon asks.

"Of course, maybe he's still shaken and thinks back up has arrived," with the fall of Potamon also came the fall of Pulso's confidence I can hear the lack of energy and the shaking in his voice. "Water screw!" Syakamon lets out another pressurized stream of water.

Gablimon stops picking his nose and flicks away a booger that was on the tip of his sharp fingernail. "Gaburi strike!" he flings a fireball at the water-based attack and when they collide steam fills my vision.

Gablimon pops out the smoke with his club raised. "Syakomon defend!" Pulso's partner tucks himself away in his shell as Gablimon swings downward, the force of that swing cracks the pink shell with ease.

It looks like I have no choice that defense of his will give away soon. "Aguman, realize!" with my digivice held up a bright yellow lizard comes out in a flash of light.

Aguman crosses his arms. "Hmph, look at this mess," he walks over to Potamon and gives him a swift kick into the side of the mountain.

"Aguman, cut it out!" what is he doing?

"Shut it! He's lucky that's all I'm doing after his big talk while I was trapped inside that prison! You're lucky I don't do the same to you!"

"More data," Gablimon stops bashing on Syakamon's shell and walks over to Aguman.

"Don't think I'll end up like these weaklings," Aguman comes face to face with Gablimon and then spits on the ground.

"We'll see about that!" Gablimon swings his club at Aguman and hits his shoulder, but the yellow lizard doesn't even flinch.

"Is that all?" Aguman says with a smirk.

A vein appears on Gablimon's head as he raises his club once more. "Goburi rush!" Aguman crosses his arms before Gabliman does a barrage of unrelenting strikes.

Aguman stands there taking each attack as his arms turn increasingly red. Then a single drop of sweat falls from Gablimon, and as if that was the signal he mutters. "My turn, Sharp claw!" he slashes Gablimon across the chest causing him to drop his club with a shocked expression.

"Huh?" Gablimon grasps his exposed wound as he stumbles back.

"Wow, you're still standing!" Aguman smiles. "Your name was Goblimon right? Go ahead and pick up that club of yours so we can finish our brawl," he gestures towards the weapon.

"I refuse to be deleted!" Gablimon runs off leaving behind his club and a trail of red data.

"Tsk, just another coward, I got my hopes up for nothing!" Aguman gives chase to his fleeing opponent.

As I start to follow Pulso grabs me by the shoulder. "What the hell was that! If you would have called him out earlier Syakomon wouldn't be in this shape!"

"I was told not too by Ms. Latton ," I defended myself.

"Wh-"

A scream of apparent agony resonates throughout the mountain. Pulso and I run up the path to see what was going on and what we found were Gablimon holding the head of a girl with long reddish brown braids in the palm of his hand. Her burgundy dress and yellow undershirt are shaking alongside her body. "Help... me..." she calls out.

"If you don't stop chasing me I'll crush her head!" Gablimon threatens.

"Heh, you think I care about some humans life," Aguman chuckles as he walks forward without hesitation.

Gablimon takes a step back and squeezes the girls head harder causing her to let out another agonizing scream. "I mean it!"

"So do I-" Aguman is sucked back into my digivice by the same bright light that brought him out.

"That's enough," this isn't worth a human life. "He's gone, now let her go!"

Gablimon drops the girl and makes his hasty escape. "Hey, are you okay!" Pulso and I ask as we rush over to her.

"Is she..." as soon as my words came out she let out a breath. "Thank goodness."

"I'll take her to the union hospital," Pulso picks up the girl and carries her on his back.

"I'll go with you!" it'll be easier to carry her with two people.

"No, you report to the village and the counter its protocol," Pulso says.

"Well if that's the rule I guess I can't break it," Pulso and I head down the mountain path picking up our injured Digimon along the way. We part ways at the village with him going to the warp pad and me going inside the village leader's hut. It takes a few minutes to explain everything that happened.

"You mean you failed..." the pink blob doesn't hide his disappointment.

"Not necessarily failed we just didn't beat him, but don't worry, give us a few days to heal up and-"

"WE DON'T HAVE A FEW DAYS!" the pink blob uses all his strength to scream his voice cracking under pressure. "Our village is doomed..."

"Didn't you hear me he's wounded he has to heal up just like us!" He has every right to be mad, but he has to look at the bright side.

The pink blob shakes his head. "And how do you think he'll heal up by absorbing the rest of the villagers and eating the remainder of our food."

"Then I'll... Stay here until he attacks again!" anything to help.

"You've done enough, I don't want to see your face around here again," the pink blob says.

"Please, just one more-"

"LEAVE!" the pink blob shouts again but this time coughing up red data after.

"Fine," he won't listen all I can do now is warp out.

* * *

Now that I'm back in the city the first thing I need to do is head back home. Reporting what happened can wait for Potamon, he requires treatment. There are bandages and other medicines back at the cabin that I found them earlier.

A few minutes later I'm finally finished! Applying the medicine made the wounds disappear almost instantly and even though I never used bandages before I did a pretty good job. I'll place him on my bed since sleep is the key to recovery. Now I believe it's time to report to the counter.

The counter attendant is tapping his finger. "I expected this from that loser Pulsa," he sharply inhales through his nose. "Do you know what it means to fail a mission."

"No..." with no courage to look him in his eye, I twiddle my thumbs behind my back.

"It means that we lose the trust of the rest of the digital world. The union already is disliked by most of the digital world because we butt our noses in almost every problem, but we prove them wrong every time. Failing our missions proves we're not necessary."

"I'm sorry I'll do better next time," finally looking him in the eye I see the expression I'm all too familiar with... One of disappointment.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Litton heard of your little mishap and wanted to see you for herself," he shoos me away like a fly.

"Okay..." I head to the door.

"Hopefully there won't be another mission for you," he says before I walk out.

* * *

Now I have to see Latton; she'll probably give me an earful too. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew. Perhaps I should go home and forget I ever came to the digital world. "So I heard what happened on your first mission," she walks up to me saying what I knew she was going to.

"Yes..." I'm scared; I don't think I can handle another look of disappointment.

"Good job!"

"Wait, what?" raising my head up what I see is a warm and welcoming smile. "I failed! What do you mean a good job?"

She slaps me on my shoulders. "You had a hard choice to make, and I believe you made the right one."

"But the village... the union..." my fist clenches on its own.

"Will be fine, everyone has to start somewhere. Something most Tamers have forgotten." she takes my clenched fist and holds it up to her chest. " And if that village gets attacked again I'll personally make sure you get the mission."

"Thank you, Ms... Litton!"

"Hmph, you can thank me by not giving up, I can see it in your eyes you have a goal you want to accomplish one that'll have more than a few bumps in the road." lets go of my hand and gives me a push. "I want to see what it is."

"Yes, ma'am!" my doubts are gone. I may have fallen off the horse, but I need to get back on it and ride to the finish line.

Waiting outside the private gate are the two from the mission, Pulso and the girl who's now sporting glasses with red frames and bandages atop her head. "Glad to see that you're doing better..."

"Komachi is my name, and I'm grateful to you for saving my life," Kamachi bows in front of me.

"Hey, I also saved you where is my thanks?!" Pulso shouts.

"If I recall correctly you did nothing but stand there with a stupid look on your face," Kamachi pushes up her glasses.

"WHAT!? Who do you think carried you to the hospital!" Pulso screams.

"Look Kamachi it's honestly no big deal I'm glad you're okay," I respond.

"Oh, but it is, and I was raised to always pay back my debts!" Kamachi gives her chest a good pound.

"And what do you want," I point to Pulso.

"Glad you asked partner!" Pulso puts his hands on his hips. Who's he calling partner? "Today made me realize I can't do this whole Tamer thing alone even if I research the enemy beforehand. That's when an idea came into my head. What if I wasn't alone? Us saving Komachi here is proof we're a pretty good team don't you think."

"Two weaklings working together won't help anyone. I'll train myself and become stronger thank you," now I need to address Kamchi. "As for you, I don't need anything; I'm just trying to go home, rest and then get some studying done."

"If you need help with studying I'm your girl! My specialties are math, science, and music!" all the subjects I'm not good at, what are the odds.

"Your school might be different but did you get your report card today? I would like to see it for myself if you did," I hold out my hand.

"No need for that take my word," Kamachi clutches her red backpack.

"Look I don't have time for this show me or get out the way!" I grab a strap from the back, and she jerks back causing a piece of paper to fall.

Picking up the piece of paper I'm in shock. Kamachi wasn't lying she exceed in every subject she mentioned, but every other is way below average. Why do I need help from a girl who's terrible at everything I'm good at especially history! "No thanks, I don't need help from a girl who's bad at history" I toss the report card back at her.

"I'm sorry I'm not interested in the ancient dribble of those who have long gone," Kamachi says.

A vein pops on my head, and I instinctively turn around. "WHAT! I'll have you know history is one of the many subjects I excel in! It's way better than just adding and subtracting numbers!"

Kamachi gets in my face. "Math is one of the key elements a human needs to survive the world! It helps us with many days to day activities!"

"Have fun doing those day to day activities when you can barely even read and write in Japanese!" I grit my teeth.

As the sparks fly, Pulso jumps between us. "It's clear that each of you sucks at the subject the other is good at," he holds up his report card that's filled with all A's! "So I Pulsa will supervise the both of you in exchange for help on missions," Pulso winks.

Hmmm, this report card seems real enough and with the help of two people I could improve by leaps and bounds. Also, I can spread the love of history to this uncultured girl in one fell swoop. "I agree."

"Great! Lets all rest up and meet together tonight in front of the warp pad," Pulso suggests.

"Hopefully I'll educate you quickly so I can repay my debt soon," Kamachi annoyingly adds.

Oh crap, I haven't introduced myself yet! Mom would kill me if she found out! "My name's Koh by the way," and with that, I'm the first to warp off.

I need a nap. "You're back," Potamon comes flapping to me.

"Glad your okay Potamon, sorry about leaving you alone I had to report to the union counter," scratching the itch on the back of my head I let out a yawn.

Potamon remains silent for a moment before speaking. "Are you the one who treated my wounds?"

"Yeah sorry about the crappy job I've never done anything like this before," flopping on the bed I take off my clothes.

"I assume we failed the mission?" Potamon asks.

"Yep, but don't worry we'll do better next time a little rest and a whole lot of training will see to that!" I get comfy under the covers.

"... Well, then I better rest up." Potamon mutters.

"Night."

* * *

 ** _A/N: I really feel my grammar is improving by leaps and bounds thanks to my amazing beta reader regenengel3! Thank you to everyone who has continued to read my story despite that it means a lot. I would also like to give a special thanks to_** _ **FlyingCephalopod for reviewing my story!**_


	5. We have an agreement

_I'm trapped inside this tiny prison floating around in nothingness as I watch the outside world through a screen. The little bit of freedom I got was to fight that coward Goblimon, but I haven't left since. Why did that tool stop me from deleting him? I need more data to become stronger, or Monodramon will leave me in the dust! Is he still even in that form maybe he's evolved again? These thoughts are enough to fill my head day in and day out._

"Alright, I graded your test," the annoying blonde boy says as he hands my tool and the glasses girl two sheets of paper.

"What did you get Kamachi?" the tool asks the glasses girl with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Tsk!" is all the glasses girl could say as she crumbles up the sheet of paper she was given.

"Oh, what did I make you ask?" the tool holds up his ear. "If you must know it's a whopping seventy-six! If I keep improving at this rate, I'll be getting B's soon enough!"

The glasses girl shoots him a glare. "These are fake test made up by Pulsa anyway, why should I care what I got!"

The tool laughs. "Don't get mad because you're still failing these fake test after three whole days. Maybe your subjects aren't that hard after all, and I just needed a tutor."

The glasses girl lets out a chuckle herself. "You're right my subjects are easy which is why an idiot like yourself is now doing worse in math than before going from D's to F's!"

This got a reaction out of the tool as sparks begin flying between the two. "Alright break it up," the blonde boy butts in-between their feud. "It looks like we need a break, maybe a mission to unwind?"

"Hmph, no thank you. I'll unwind my way," the glasses girl gathers her books and warps off with her nose held high.

"Guess it's just you and me then," the blonde boy stats.

The tool crosses his arms and gestures towards the flying rat laying on the bed. "Potamon, are you feeling up for a mission or do you still need time to recover?"

"Yeah do you still need him to lick your wounds?" he's been resting for three days how long does it take to heal up?

"I already told you I was fine after the first day you don't have to keep asking me!" the flying rat yells.

"You don't have to push yourself Potamon, in most great battles-"

"Let's just go Tamer!" the rat huffs over to the warp pad.

* * *

"So are you going to pick the mission Pulso?" the tool lets his eyes wander the walls of the union's mission building.

"Its Pulsa... and yea I think we should do some retrieval missions and save up some bits," the blonde boy puts his hands on his hips.

"Bits... Retrieval missions..." the clueless tool tilts his head to figure out the meaning of the two words. "I assume retrieval missions are getting items for someone and bits are a type of currency in the digital world, but what are they used for?"

"We did fail our mission, so it's no surprise Shark didn't explain bits afterword," the blonde boy holds up his index finger and starts wagging it in front of the tool. "Bits are like you said a type of currency used to improve the life of a Tamer. You can get better food then the slop they have in the cabins, softer beds, cool posters, rare toys, old textbooks the sky's the limit since we're in the digital world anything you can imagine is for sale here!

"So a bunch of unimportant stuff," the tool continues to scan the walls uninterested.

"Don't count out bits just yet," the blonde boy winks. "They can also be used to get better weapons and training equipment for your Digimon! Swords, shields, armor, guns, all made by the digital world's finest blacksmiths! With the right amount of bits you can become a real powerhouse!"

The tool strokes his chin now invested in the conversation. "So even weaklings like Potamon and Syakomon can become strong?"

"Are you ready to pick a mission yet Tamer?!" the flying rat was noticeably upset.

I couldn't help but laugh. "In a rush to get your ass beat again?"

"Quiet you!" sorry rat the truth hurts.

"Hmm, so something like this?" the tool has been ignoring our arguments recently, I guess he had grown tired of trying to break them up. "Looking for the rare L-Mushroom! It's my favorite food, but only a few grow every ten years in chip forest."

"Are you serious?!" using the union for a food run while some areas are in real distress! Talk about privileged!

"I know how you feel Aguman, but we need equipment, and this mission pays a lot of bits!" the tool holds his digivice to his face.

"You don't have to worry about anything because I'll be the one handling most of the missions while you sit back and look pretty!" just you wait flying rat that mouth of yours is going to get you into a lot of trouble.

"Well if we're all in agreeance let's go," the blonde boy claps his hands together.

"This mission seems more your speed goggle head," the spiky-haired takes the tool's digivice. "As for you Pulsa why do you even try? You haven't finished a single mission yet."

"Come on Shark!" the blonde boy pleads with the counter attendant. "This time will be different; I have Koh to back me up!"

"Shut it Pulsa I decide who goes on missions," the spiky-haired boy picks up a magazine without giving the blonde boy a second look.

"Pulsa only failed last time because of me!" the tool stupidly slams his head on the table in an attempt to bow and regrets it soon after. "I'm sorry for my failures, but I promise this one will be different so please just one more chance!"

"Tsk, alright fine this is your last chance to impress me Pulsa," looks like the pleads work as he scans the information for the mission into the blonde boy's bright yellow digivice.

"Alright, you ready?" the tool rubs his now red forehead.

The blonde boy's face lights up. "Thanks, I owe you one!"

"Well there's not much Potamon, and I can do by ourselves," the tool pats the blonde boy on the shoulder. "And you have been helping me improve in science so let's just call it even."

* * *

 _Arriving at our location, we're surrounded by a lush green forest for what seems like forever. The scenery is mostly similar to a different flower here and a mixed fruit there. The humans are continually slapping all exposed parts of their body in an attempt to kill the mosquitos that plague them, but when they kill one two more starts sucking._

"Times like these I wish the digivice had a map function," the blonde boy wipes a significant amount of sweat from his brow.

"All these amazing features and a map was the thing they forget!" the tool has a point that was pretty stupid in hindsight.

The flying rat descends from above the trees. "I've spotted the L-Mushrooms, but we might have a problem," the humans follow the flying rat and from as we do I faintly hear a group of snickering. Three? No four of them.

We pass a Digimon with his ass on fire running in the opposite direction. "Run fatty run!" a purple imp with red gloves and scarf laughs.

"Man this is the life!" a similar Digimon kicks up his feet on top of a tiny pile of what I assume to be L-Mushrooms.

"These taste way too good to share!" another imp pops an L-Mushroom in his mouth with another doing the same.

My suspicions were right there were four enemies. "These Impmon seem to be hogging the supply of L-Mushrooms," the flying rat says.

"There are a lot of enemies even with Agumon we'll be outnumbered," the blonde coward takes a step back alongside his Digimon. "Maybe we should call for backup?"

"The way they're chowing down on our objective by the time we get back they'll be gone and mission failure," the flying rat coldly states.

"But I don't want to see Syakomon deleted for a stupid reason like this!" the blond boy turns around and clenches his fist. "I'm just not cut out for being a Tamer it was a mistake for me to think I could be special."

I look up to see the gears turning in the mind of the tool. "Aguman."

"What?" I respond back.

"Could you take these guys out?" the tool asks.

"Four against one?" that may seem daunting to some, but for me, it should be no problem. "Yeah I can, but what's in it for me?"

"I'll let you out, and we go on any missions you want," the tool answers.

"What! Tamer, I would advise you not to trust this barbarian!" the flying rat always has to put in his two cents.

"Koh you don't have to do this," the blonde boy steps up.

"Don't think I'm doing this for you. This is my second mission, and I've been pushed to the wall twice! I need Agumon's power to reach my goal," the fire in his eyes tells it all. He's using me just as much as I'm using him. In a way, I respect that.

A smirk creeps on my face. "Fine, don't regret this later on!"

"Aguman realize!" the tool shouts as I appear in a ball of light.

"Make sure to stay out of my way," I give the flustered rat a wink as I roll my shoulders. "Now, are you punks ready to brawl!"

"Huh? Who do you think you are!" one of the Impmon shout.

"We're the Impmon family don't mess with us unless you want to be barbeque!" the little purple runt leans on his brother's shoulder.

Big bark, little bite. As soon as I dash forward, I see the fear in the eyes. "Night of fire!" all the Impmon shout at once shooting out balls of fire from their hands, but with great ease, I dodge the attacks and close the gap between us.

"Too slow!" impaling the first victim with my claws, I use him as protection from the others. When they stopped their assault, I used my new shield to knock down the Impmon standing in front of me.

"Crap!" as soon as the fallen Digimon pushes off his fading comrade I use that split second to decapitate him.

"Brothers!" one of the two remaining Impmon cries.

"You're dead!" Hmph, it's to be expected that they're mad, half of their family is slowly turning into data right before their eyes.

"Aguman behind you!" the tool screams, but I'm too caught up in my ego to react in time.

"Night of Blizzard!" crap, one of them snuck around me and used ice to freeze my body from the neck down.

"What now tough guy!" the Impmon in front of me gets in my face his breath recking of mushroom.

"I'll show you, Baby-"

"Machine gun Kick!" the Impmon from behind cuts me off with a flurry of kicks to the back of my head. I can feel my brain shake a little and vision fading.

"Aguman!" the tool frantically looks through his digivice. "Potamon use Air shot!"

"Syakomon use Water screw!" the two attack, but unlike three days ago their special moves merge into one knocking down the Impmon behind me.

"Woah!" the blond-haired boy lets out. It looks like they didn't mean to do that.

"Hey, handle the nuisances while I take out the trash!" the Impmon in front of me lets out a flurry of kicks that slightly crack my neck.

"Thanks, I've meant to get that crook out!" I smirk as red data drips from my nose.

"Aguman! Use baby burner, but hold it in until I say go!" what?! Baby burner is an accumulation of three baby flame attacks into one big inferno! Too many saved up could cause my head to explode. "Trust me!" the tool screams as if seeing the doubt in my eyes. Hmph, well I'm dead either way might as well be by my own hands. Inhaling a large amount of oxygen I initiate his plan.

"Huh you trying to use an attack!" the Impmon in front of me kicks again causing some flames to seep out, but I quickly shut my mouth.

"Hey Impman over here!" out the corner of my eye I see that tool taunting Impmon by sticking out his tongue and waving his arms.

"Night of fire!" Impmon throws a fireball at the tool, but he hides behind a nearby tree to protect himself.

"Too slow!" the tool runs off using the forest as cover.

Meanwhile, I've accumulated two baby flames in my mouth. "What are you doing hurry up!" my Impmon shouts.

"Yeah what are you doing!" the tool mocks.

"Shut up!" looks like Impmon is starting to lose his cool. "Night of blizzard!" he misses yet again a vein now popping on his forehead.

"Where are you aiming?" the tool pretends to yawn.

"Stop moving!" Impmon stomps his foot.

"Okay!" the tool comes out into the open with his hands help up.

"Hehe," Impmon tosses up and down a fireball. "Any last words?!"

"Combination attack Water Shot!" the Impmon are knocked into each other right in front of me with one highly pressurized blast. "Aguman now!"

"Baby burner!" as the third baby flame comes up I finally release all of them at once for a more powerful blast that incinerates my foes on contact.

The tool drops down breathing heavily; he's not the athletic type. "How'd you come up with that plan?" the blonde boy skips over to the talk.

"Well, there was an exciting battle during the Genko war that also-"

"Tamer!" the flying rat cuts off his rant. "I think it's best we get the mushroom and leave before something else happens."

"True!" a sigh slips out my mouth. I no longer think the tool is an idiot I believe the proper term would be scattered brain.

* * *

The spiky haired boy looks down at the L-mushroom. "Your bits will be transferred," he slips their digivices into the usual slot.

"Yes!" the blonde boy jumps in the air. "I passed my first mission!"

"Shork could have given us a good job or congratulations," the tool crosses his arms.

"I don't even care this feels amazing!" the blonde boy hugs the tool who is visually uncomfortable. "Let's go shopping!"

"I kind of want to tell -" the blonde boy pulls him by the wrist.

* * *

Hours flew by before the tool returned. I decided to return to the tamer home and get some rest I was more beat up than I'd like to admit but I refuse to be bandaged up like a mummy especially by the tool. "Yo," he casually walked in alongside the flying rat.

"Hmph," I don't want him getting cozy with me we have an agreement and nothing else.

"Your tamer greeted you!" the flying rat says.

"I'm not going to lie I thought you would have started a fight or run off!" the tool waves off the flying rat.

"I'm a mon of my word why would I?" did the tool not trust me? Well, I never really gave him a reason too.

"Yeah you're right sorry," the tool pulls out his digivice. "But just in case you ever get the urge to hit something! Punching bag realize!" a red sandbag dangles from a metal chain.

"Hmmm," I give the bag a few swings. "Sturdy."

"Glad you like it!" the tool clenches his fist, he seems a little too excited for this. "It's suppose to increase your strength so you'll get even stronger!"

"Be grateful muscle brain," shut up rat!

"Oh! Before I forget I also got you this! Meat realize!" the biggest slab of meat I've ever seen appaears before my eyes. "After what I saw Digimon today really like food, so I had a little left over after the sandbag and thought to myself the powerhouse of our team needs to stay strong!"

 _As I gaze upon the meat, I couldn't and help but think of Guilmon. This is something he would do. I wonder how he's doing. Hopefully, he's doing well. Taking a chunk of the meat off with one bite, the tool is right I need to get stronger I need to evolve so I can go back home._


	6. It's sparring time

_What does it mean to be strong? The raw power needed to overcome any opponent? I'm constantly called weak, both in this life and my last, but that's not where the similarities end. Both my Tamers wanted the power to accomplish their goals, and that's how it all starts out. Doing anything to achieve their ideal strength leads them down a path where they can't come back from, no matter how pure the intentions. So why am I following him? Why do I also desire strength? These are questions that I feel will never be answered no matter how many times I'm reborn._

"I have returned!" my orange-haired Tamer shouts as he warps inside. Lizard Brain pays him no mind as he continues to hit his sandbag.

"What's in your hand?" casually laying in bed, I perk my head up to ask this question.

"Glad you asked Potamon!" Koh holds up a book with a picture of an agumon on the cover. "Pulso showed me the digital library, and that's where I got this gem! Now I can understand the history of every aguman that came before mine and copy their strategies! Maybe even-

"Water," Lizard Brain commands as sweat pours down his face.

"You've been hitting the bags since before I left, so you must be tired," Koh realizes a bottle of water from his digivice. "That's high-quality spring water there!"

"Why are you rewarding such rude behavior!" my anger couldn't be held back anymore after seeing Koh mindlessly listen to that Lizard Brain. "He's treating you like a tool!"

"You're wrong Potamon," my orange-haired Tamer walks over to me. "We're using each other as tools!" he gives a thumbs up as if that's a reasonable answer.

Idiot... "You're his Tamer which means you're the one in charge!"

"Hey yo partner!" Pulsa warps in alongside his partner Syakomon.

"And as the one in charge, I say training starts now!" Koh puts his hands on his hips. "A little sparring match between you and Syokamon."

"Don't ignore me!" I fly out of bed and shout into Koh's face. "Now's not the time for that! We need to resolve this issue!"

"I beg to differ you're the weakest on the team and need the most training," Koh crosses his arms.

"No I'm not, I'm just as strong as Lizard Brain!" as I angrily flap my wings, a gust of wind knocks off Koh's goggles.

Lizard Brain lets out the loudest laugh I've ever heard. "Please not after a workout my abs are already killing me."

"I will not stand here and be insulted or ignored anymore!" my glare shifts to everyone in the room before dashing off. "By any of you!"

* * *

 _Returning to the only other place I've ever known, I ended up at the room of beginnings. I'll wait here for a Tamer that will appreciate my abilities. Hopefully, Chief Glare hasn't come looking for me._

"Patamon, buddy I thought you'd be gone for good this time!" deja vu is an annoying feeling, it's giving me a slight migraine. The same flickering lights alongside the same ignorant Digimon is a bad combination."Got nothing to say? Well, I'm not surprised you did partner up with a black digivice. I guess some people like the abuse. What do they call that a masochist?"

He doesn't know anything about Koh, but then again neither do I, so it's best to not even turn around. "Shut up."

"Make me!" the annoying Digimon presses his body against my back probably in an attempt to provoke me.

"I'm coming in," a familiar voice calls out before walking inside and breaking the tension.

"Tsk, it's her again," the voice goes away sounding slightly annoyed. This is weird. Usually Digimon come flocking, but no one is going over to the door. Who is this person?

Turning around to get a better look at the door I see a girl with two long brown braids wearing a red dress that matches the color of her glasses. "Komachi! What does he mean again?"

Out of curiosity, I follow Komachi with my eyes as she walks over to the table with a determined look on her face. She hesitates for a second as her hand shakes before deciding to pick up one of the gray digivices. She holds it up to the light and stares waiting for about five minutes before she mutters. "Still nothing."

Wait, this could only mean. "She's not a chosen one!" I immediately bite my tongue at my rather loud statement.

"So Koh is spying on me now?" Komachi looks at me out the corner of her eye and puts down the digivice. "I didn't expect your Tamer to do something like this."

"He's no longer my Tamer," puffing out my chest I glide over to her and make this statement with a straight face.

"Hmm, from what I've seen it was only a matter of time before you two had your first falling out."

What does she mean first falling out?! "Just like it's only a matter of time before you leave the digital world and never come back non-chosen," that'll shut her up.

"We both know that once I leave the digital world, I can never come back," Komachi crosses her arms behind her back. "For once you have completed the unknown task the digital world has assigned, you can never return."

"And since you have no purpose here, why don't you crawl back into the portal you tripped into," so she knows the truth, but still decides to stay. "Landing in what I assume was login mountain?"

"No, I was here before then," Komachi turns her back to me. "Shark let me go, I needed materials for a project, and he's always had a soft spot for me, maybe because we're the same."

Looks like he needs to be reprimanded. "And you still want to stay here after you almost died because of his sympathy."

Komachi lets out a heavy sigh. "You're just like Koh, a perfect match for each other."

Is she trying to insult me! "I'm nothing like that idiot! He's an arrogant boy who only thinks of power and believes he's always right!"

"You're correct, but-"

"Potamon, are you in here!" that voice! Out of instinct, I hid under the nearby table.

"Embarrassed to meet him?" without realizing it, Komachi also came under the table with me. "Did you possibly storm off?"

"Excuse me, have you seen - "

"Stay away from me!" the fear in the Digimon's voice is evident as it stumbles off.

"It must not be used to humans?" of course he would think that. I inadvertently peek from under the table to get a glimpse of his usual dumbfounded expression when things don't go as planned."Potamon there you are!" crap, I'm immediately spotted!

"Looks like we've been found," Komachi crawls from underneath the table.

"Kamachi what are you doing here?" Koh points to the girl.

Komachi pats me on top of the head. "Same reason as you to obtain a Digimon."

"Hmm, now that I think about it I've never seen your Digimon before," Koh's finger goes limp as he gets lost in thought.

"That's because I don't have a Digimon or a digivice," why did she say that, doesn't she know he's going to tease her?

"Hmm, well that sucks," huh, is that all he's going to say? "More importantly Potamon why did you storm off like that and don't tell me it's because you wanted to slack off on training!" Koh's finger now points firmly at me as it goes up and down with his arm.

I can't even look him in the eye. "Why do you care if I stay or leave isn't Agumon your powerhouse."

"Because you're an essential part of the team!" Koh loudly smacks a book that I'm just now noticing over and over. " You may not be as strong as Agumon, but haven't you realized the combination attack with Syokamon was the reason we succeeded our last mission?"

Glancing over in disbelief at what he said I notice the book he was holding had a picture of me on it or more specifically my species. "Is that.."

"Now don't make me repeat myself it's time for training!" why were his eyes burning? Why was he getting so upset?

Nobodies ever came after me before. After I leave a Tamer that's usually the last time I see them, but him... why? "If what you say is true then... Let me face against Lizard Brain."

"Umm, no I don't think you're ready, he'll just beat you to a bloody pulp!" of course, even though he came after me he still doesn't think I'm strong enough. "You learn from a loss, but a complete and utter defeat will just lower morale."

"Sounds like you're coming up with a bunch of excuses," Komachi leans over to Koh with a smirk. "As expected of a lackluster Tamer."

"Lackluster!" Koh flicks her exposed forehead. "You're not even a Tamer how could you judge me!"

"Results say everything, and you've only passed one out of two missions," Komachi grabs both his cheeks in response. "Since you're bad at math, that's a fifty percent or an F, but you must be used to those by now."

"I'll show you I'll make an A when it comes to being a Tamer!" Koh slaps away Komachi's hands and storms off. "Let's go Potamon!" she knows how to get under his skin, but it's thanks to her that I now have a chance to prove my strength finally.

* * *

"Aguman it's sparring time!" Koh shouts as he warps inside one of the union designated sparring gyms.

"Who am I fighting?" Lizard Brain drags his feet behind him.

"I'm glad you asked!" Koh opens up both hands to present me like a new car at a game show. "Your opponent is Potamon!"

"You're joking right?" Agumon chugs his water and throws the bottle at me. "Don't waste my time with nonsense."

Koh pounds his chest. "Nope I'm serious, I'll prove to everyone in here that no matter the Digimon I'll rise against the challenge!" he blatantly looks over at Komachi who had followed us.

"Let's just get this over with," Lizard Brain rolls his eyes.

"Mind if I see your digivice before you start?" Komachi pulls out a bulky yellow laptop from her backpack. "For research purposes."

"Fine, I don't need it right now anyway," Koh tosses her his digivice and opens up his textbook. "Alright Potamon, Air Gust!" inflating my body I spit out a large cloud that covers up Lizard Brain. "Now Air Shot!" keeping my distance I fire off my usual attack aiming it into the cloud, but I hear nothing, not even a slight groan.

"Are we done here?" Lizard brain steps out unharmed. Did I somehow miss?

"Keep using Air Shots!" as commanded I continue my assault aiming for his arms, legs and even his head, but nothing is working. He didn't dodge, he took everything full force and kept moving forward without even blinking.

"Is that all?" Lizard Brain cocks back his head. "Baby Flame!"

"Keep your distance and dodge!" barely moving out the way of the fireball with a quick twist I start encircling my opponent in the air.

It's been a minute, but Koh still hasn't given me another command. Has he given up on me? Fine, I'll attack myself. "Air Shot!" If I aim for his back, even Lizard Brain will take damage.

"Baby Flame!" before my attack could even reach him he turns around and fires his own, as his flame engulfs my small puff of wind I have no time to react and begin plummetting. "Not done yet!" Lizard Brain shouts as he dashes my direction and punches me in the face before I touch the ground sending me flying across the room.

Koh shouts. "Argh, why did you attack!"

"I expected this outcome," Komachi unplugs Koh's digivice that was connected to her laptop and throws it to him. "So before you admit defeat use this."

Koh examins his digivice. "Well, nothing to lose. Boom-tube realize!"

In front of me appears a large red cylinder with light green circuits running inside. "My invention here doubles the power of wind-based attacks," Komachi pats her weapon.

Even if I'm two times stronger it won't be enough...but I need to prove myself... I need to get back up and dig even deeper or else... "Sparking Air Shot!" using my remaining strength I launch a burst of electrical air that hits Lizard Brain dead center knocking him over.

"Hmph," as I fade out of consciousness, I see Lizard Brain jump back up and roll his shoulders.

* * *

 _" **Get up...** " a boy's voice echoing from a distance awakens me. " **Get up!** " the boy gets closer, but I'm too dazed to make out who it is._

 _" **I'm trying... But I'm so hungry...** " my wounds are burning, and my tears only make them hurt even more._

 _As I finally get on my feet, the boy gives me a swift kick knocking me back down. " **Useless! Food is a reward for those who can win,** " he storms off._

 _" **I'm sorry,** " another Digimon says as he follows behind the boy before I fade out of consciousness once again._

* * *

Then suddenly my head is overcome by a warm, refreshing feeling. The pain that covered my body is washed away, and I don't want this to stop. Where is it coming from? My eyes flutter open, and I see... Koh is sitting at my bedside reading a book with one hand and gently stroking my head with the other. Our eyes meet, and a smile pops on his face. "You're awake!"

Checking over myself I see that I'm wrapped up like a toilet paper mummy. Koh's handy work no doubt. "How long was I out?"

"About a day?" Koh says as he stops stroking my head. "I was going to wake you up sooner, but you started squirming around in a cold sweat. When I wiped your forehead, you started to calm down, so I ended up petting you all night."

Is that what happened, that's so embarrassing! "I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused!"

"Don't be, your fight against Aguman was amazing!" Koh punches his hand. "You threw him for a loop!"

Please don't sugar coat things. "I still lost."

"True, but the attack you used is the first step in unlocking your hidden holy power!" Koh flips through the textbook with excitement to show me a specific paragraph. "Which means we're only going to get stronger from here Patamon!"

"Pata...mon?" did I hear that right?

"You should have seen the look on Aguman's face after the fight; he was so mad! He's been hitting the bags twice as hard ever since," Koh laughs and continues the conversation as if he didn't say anything strange at all. He then smacks his head out of nowhere. "Oh right, you must be hungry! I'll grab you something real quick!"

"You're smiling," Komachi says as she taps away at her laptop, the glare reflecting off her glasses.

"When did you get here!" please don't tell me she saw all that.

"All night, Koh begged me to explain how I made my equipment and asked if I could make some for the others," Komachi looks over at me with a wide smirk. "He was so impressed he got my name correct."

My face immediately gets hot because I knew what she was implying. "I don't care if he got my name right! Only an idiot would struggle with something like that!"

Komachi lets out a chuckle the first time I've ever heard a sound like that come from her mouth. "Alright, I'll drop it because more importantly..." her smile quickly drops and a vein pops on her head. "You broke my boom-tube! It wasn't designed to withstand high voltage, so it shattered after you used it!"

I've never seen her make this expression either, and it's quite scary. "Well, why did you let me use such an unstable invention then! Sounds like this is your fault!"

Komachi picks me up by the cheeks and stretches them out."Because I was trying to help you and now I have to rebuild it from scratch!" she shouts before finally dropping me. "Argh! You're just like Koh!"

Just like Koh... for some reason, I don't think she ever meant that as an insult. "Hmph! So are you!


	7. The digital ruins

_I'm at the end of this journey for in the distance I see the sparkling treasure I've spent my whole life looking for: the Digimental of Purity. The title is well deserved as it brightens up this otherwise dim cavern in a warm, comforting light. Ah, I can't let myself get distracted. Not after coming this far. Upon further inspection, there doesn't seem to be any more traps, so there's no reason to hesitate! Swallowing heavily past the lump in my throat, I snatch the digimental off its stone pedestal with all my might, clumsily falling down. The light disappears, but I can still feel that same warmth deep inside me. I can't wait to show Babamon!_

I'm running as fast as my feet can carry me but it's still not enough, probably because I keep tripping on every sharp turn. "Babamon will scream once she sees this!" giggling with joy I push myself up to wipe the dirt from my fur.

"Argh!" a voice echoes in the distance

"Yeah, like that!" I twirl with the digimental held up over my head.

"Someone, please help me!" the same voice cries out in distress.

Huh? Wait, that's not Babamon's voice! Who could be here? Tracing the screams back to its source I spot a long serpentine-like Digimon being restricted mid-air by vines. "Corona Flame!" I concentrate all my energy into the emblem on my forehead, shooting out a beam of fire that burns the vines to a crisp.

The serpentine Digimon falls to the ground, his lime green scales are now black from my attack. "Water..." he weakly mutters.

Babamon said never talk to strangers, but she also said help your fellow Digimon in need! "Here, you can have these." I pull out a canteen of water from my satchel along with some meat, just in case he got hungry later on. "That should be enough to get you by."

The serpentine is obviously hesitating, judging me with his eyes. "Just water is fine," he starts drinking from the canteen, but quickly chokes coughing everything back up.

"Not so fast! Here, let me help you!" with the canteen in my left hand, I hold on to the serpentines solid yellow head with my right. He struggles at first, but soon the resistance stops.

"Why are you so nice?" the serpentine looks up at me with wonder.

Sheepishly scratching the back of my head, I answer. "Because that's just how I was raised."

The serpentine looks at me with confusion until he lifts himself from my arms. "I'm feeling better so I'll be on my way."

"You don't have to push yourself!" the serpentine winces when I grab him in an attempt to stop his departure. "Please at least stay until your wounds are all healed up, I have some gel in my bag that helps with burns."

"Thank you," the serpentine lowers his head. "My name is Seadramon."

"I'm Coronamon, it's a pleasure to meet you," bowing as low as I could, I feel my body tense up in fear of making a poor first impression. "And don't thank me too much, the corona flame drains my stamina, so I'm pretty weak right now myself."

"If you're so weak as to get drained by your own attack, what are you doing here in the first place?" Seadramon finally eats the meat I left in front of him.

Feeling hungry myself I pull out another piece of meat. "I live here."

"You live in the digital world ruins!" Seadramon puts his face in front of mine, his icy blue eyes only centimeters away.

"Yeah, is that strange?" taking a bite of my meat I try not to break eye contact. Babamon says always look someone in the eyes when you're talking to them.

Seadramon backs away giving me a sideways glance."Even if I did believe you, how are you able to survive this place? It's riddled with traps!"

"I mean if you just read the digicode on the walls you can get past almost everything?" as I trace my paws on the writing they begin to glow a lime green.

"You can read digicode!?" Seadramon stares at the wall with amazement.

"Yeah, Babamon taught me," the glow fades as I pull my hand off.

"So, do you think you could help me find the digimental?" Seadramon gives me a wide grin as his skeptical nature of me disappears.

"You're here for the digimental! You must be an archaeologist! Babamon told me all about them! Which one are you here to study!" now it's me who's getting all in his face.

"Slow down you're talking way too fast!" Seadramon's eyes spin.

"I'm sorry, I got a little too excited," my face is starting to get warm.

"If you must know, I need any one of the digimentals for a job I was hired to do," Seadramon lets out an exhausted sigh. "I wouldn't normally take on something like this, but the reward is too huge. I prefer to stay in my main occupation of hacking."

"Wow, so you are a man of science like I thought!" this day just keeps getting better.

"Heh, it's a curse really!" Seadramon stands tall with his head held high. "My talents just eminent off me, making it hard to not be noticed as the greatest hacker ever."

"Do you think your client would be okay with this?" scavenging through my bag, I take out my recently discovered treasure.

"Is that the real digimental of purity!" Seadramon rushes down to get a closer look.

"Yep I just got it today!" the look on his face makes me happy. This adventure was worth it knowing other people appreciate the same things I do. "Do you think I could maybe go with you? I really want to meet with your client!"

"Is that all?" Seadramon gasps. "No money, I told you the reward was huge, and I wouldn't mind splitting it with you?"

"Hmmm, I never really needed money so I wouldn't know what to do with it?" I cross my arms trying to think of the uses of currency. "You'd need it more than I would, right? So you could get better equipment for hacking."

"Coronamon you're an upstanding mon!" Seadramon coils himself around me in what I assume to be a hug. "You remind me of myself when I was a rookie!"

"Okay, we can move out in the morning so let's get some sleep," it's tough to talk with Seadramon like this, but wouldn't it be rude to tell him to stop? I guess I have to endure it.

"Right, I'll tell a friend of mine to pick us up!" Seadramon finally let's go, allowing me to breathe. A virtual screen pops up in front of him, and ringing sound echoes the cave.

"Goodnight then," I pull out two blankets from my satchel giving Seadramon one.

Seadramon burst out laughing. "You have everything in that bag don't you."

"Babamon taught me to always be prepared," I wag my finger in an attempt to imitate her, but I doubt he'd get the reference.

* * *

I'm the first to wake up. It's a little strange not hearing Babamon's snoring, but instead rolling over to see Seadramon with drool dripping from his mouth. Should I wake him up or is that rude? Usually, when Babamon is still asleep, I just go off and explore the ruins. Before I could decide, I see Seadramon drowsily wake up. He looks over at me with a smile and quietly slithers over to me. "Rise and shine!" Seadramon yells in my ear. "Come on sleepy-head you can't snooze the day away!"

"Sorry," a small chuckle slips out. "You seem to be feeling better?"

"I'm at about twenty-five percent strength," Seadramon flexes his tail.

"Do you need another day to rest up?" I worryingly ask.

"No, the clock is ticking, and I already contacted the others!" Seadramon hastily stuffs my satchel with all our items.

"Let's get going then!" I firmly grasp my satchel as excitement fills my body.

 _The traps in the ruins are mostly used to keep mon from getting in, so barely any activate when you're trying to leave. We're soon guided to the exit by the loud snoring of Babamon for the last little bit of our journey. I was both happy and sad: happy that we made it out without a hitch, but sad that Babamon can't see me leave. I'll be back and tell her all about the archaeologist. Sneaking past the old hag-like Digimon, we finally reach the outside._

Waiting for us is a ginormous dinosaur Digimon with twenty silver blades protruding from its back. "Do you have it?" his booming voice shakes the trees around him.

"Of course Spinomon," Seadramon hits me on the shoulder with his tail.

"Oh!" I hold the digimental high over my head.

"Hmmm," Spinomon leans in closer. "Impressive, it's been a while since anybody has gotten a digimental."

"Well, it was easy for Coronamon here because he can read digicode!" Seadramon puffs out his chest as if he was praising himself. "He wants to know if he can come with us to meet the client."

"If it's okay with them!" I frantically add, not wanting to seem too pushy.

"The ancient language..." Spinomon's tone slightly changes into that of shock before returning to normal. "The boss will definitely want to see you," he picks both of us up in the palm of his hand.

"Thank-" before I could even finish, we were warped into an entirely different location. A tropical paradise blooming with exotic flowers. My eyes go wide, and my jaw drops.

Seadramon laughs. "Your face says it all Coronamon!"

"Silence boy!" Spinomon snarls.

A centaur-like Digimon, the same size as Spinomon, is standing in front of us. Its upper body was that of a human male; with long golden hair and bat-like wings. Its lower half has two shark heads, one on each of its thighs."Did you get what I asked for?"

"Yes Grandracomon, it was all thanks to this rookie who is able to read digicode," Spinomon humbly takes a knee in front of the centaur-like Digimon.

"Is this true?" Grandracomon raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, he even saved my life while in the ruins," Seadramon bends down as if he was taking a knee as well.

Grandracomon strokes his chin. "Join me, Kowloon co. could use someone with your skill set," his voice is very charming. He speaks like a true businessman. "We'll start you off with one million bits for your recent success."

"What does your job entail?" this could be an excellent opportunity for me! Everyone seems eager to learn about my knowledge of digicode. Maybe I can teach them and help discover more lost items.

Grandracomon turns his back to me. "Come, and you'll find out."

Deeper into the heart of the island awaits someone cloaked in a red hood. All that could be seen from under it are piercing yellow eyes. "You're late," a green wormlike Digimon with ten pink legs says from atop the hooded beings shoulder visibly annoyed.

"Sorry, we had to make a few introductions," Grandracomon snaps his fingers. I hurry over to hand them the digimental.

"Yes, this is the genuine article. I can feel the power trying to merge with my very being." Wormmon is one of the only few remaining ancient Digimon who can use the power of the digimentals! They must want to analyze just how powerful armor evolution is.

"I hope you don't mind, but I would like to see a demonstration," Grandracomon tone becomes very serious.

"Of course," Wormmon pulls a cloak that reveals a heavy piece of machinery. He puts the digimental in a small compartment. "We need a volunteer."

"Please Grandracomon, let me do it!" Seadramon bows his head to the ground getting it smeared with dirt.

Grandracomon flicks his wrist. "Go then, I don't have all day."

"If you survive we might forgive your failure in retrieving the digimental," Spinomon glares at Seadramon who's body begins to shake.

"Wait, what do you mean failure?! He got you the digimental!" I shout in confusion.

"No, you got the digimental, not him," Spinomon spits. "This is the least he can do for embarrassing Kowloon co. like this."

Seadramon takes a deep breath to stop his body from shaking. "Coronamon... If I don't survive this, I just want to say thanks again... That meat was delicious."

The red hood pulls a lever causing an electric surge to fly from it. The door slam shuts, and an agonizing scream could be heard from inside the machine. "I need to stop this!"

Spinomon stomps his foot cutting off my path. "Don't interrupt, it's almost over," the machine opens up, and Seadramon falls out, but he's completely different. His blue scales are now burgundy, and he's twice his previous size, with a blade-like horn protruding from his head.

"He evolved, but how?! Only ancient Digimon can use the power of the digimental!" scavenging through my satchel I take out some gel to help with his wounds, but my curiosity is still peaked.

"We've kept up our end, now it's time for you to do the same," the red hood speaks for the first time. Its voice is very robotic and unnatural sounding.

"Yes, your virus is complete," Grandracomon makes a small silver briefcase appear out of thin air. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Digimon will come in hordes for this invention!" Spinomon rubs his hands together. "They will of course have to pay upfront, and whether they survive or not-"

"I won't let you use the digimental for something like this, it's not right!" for the first time in my life I'm feeling the emotion of anger, and it's not pleasant. "Who knows how this could effect Digimon. They could be completely deleted with no hope of rebirth! Return it now!"

"It looks like you don't share the same ideals as Kowloon co. a real shame. I truly am greatly for your work," Grandracomon turns his serious tone to me causing my body to freeze up. "I'll allow you to live as long as you don't get in our way!"

I'm warped back to the digital ruins entrance. "Why!" I slam my fist on the ground. "This is all my fault!" tears begin to swell up in my eyes.

I'm hit over the top of my head. "What are you doing out here we have guests!" in front of me is none other than Babamon, who angrily waves around her broomstick.

I couldn't help myself, I latch on to her and let my tears flow. "Babamon I messed up! I really messed up!"

"What happened?" Babamon gently strokes my head. "Did you break something in the ruins again?"

Babamon's long nails going through my fur slightly calms me down. Enough to tell the story of what happened.

"That is bad indeed," Babamon tilts my head up and smiles at me with her stitched up mouth. "But I'm glad you told me. We'll let our guest know about this."

Snorting up my remaining snot I ask. "Who's our guests?"

Babamon guides me inside and introduces me to two human boys. "Pleasure to meet you my name is Pulsa," the blonde boy with a bowl cut and freckles waves.

"And I'm Koh, we're from the union," the orange-haired boy with blue goggles points to himself with a smug smile.

I wipe my nose. "My name is Coronamon..." this doesn't feel like the time to be making proper introductions, so I don't even bother to bow.

"The reason I am here is that my partner Patamon is of the ancient species and that means he's able to use the digimentals to armor evolve," Koh points to his Digimon.

"Yes, Patamon is known to be the most powerful when equipped with the digimental of hope," I mutter without my usual enthusiasm.

"Yes I've done my research," Koh gives me a stink look as if I was questioning his intelligence.

"But I don't need the digimental," the Patamon in question states. "I'm getting plenty strong on my own!"

"If you didn't need it we wouldn't be here," an orange lizard Digimon grumbles with his arms crossed. "I could be training right now!"

"You want to go mutt!" Patamon growls.

The orange lizard rolls his eyes. "You're not worth my time."

"It took us days in the digital library just to find this place," Pulsa rubs his temples. "Most tamers don't know of this location, it's practically in the middle of nowhere."

"It has been a very long time since we've seen a human here," Babamon hugs her broom like cane. "I was a young girl back then, I'm sure it was fate that brought the next generation here at this moment."

"Great! I'm glad we're on the same page!" Koh claps his hands together. "Bobamon volunteered you to be our tour guide in finding the digimental. She told us you're able to read the ancient language."

"About that," Babamon tells the two tamers the story.

"Wow you really messed up," Koh gives me a triumphant look as if he got me back for what I said to him earlier.

"Koh this is serious we should immediately report this to the union," Pulsa yells at his friend. "You're coming with us! We need you to report everything you saw to the union."

"I understand," the knot in my stomach tightens.

Koh slaps my back. "Don't worry Caronmon, taking out evil organizations is just another day for light fang!"

"But there were mega level Digimon!" I remind Koh.

"No excuses, the bad guy may have won the day, but not the war!" Koh places his hands on my shoulders and shakes me frantically. "Are you really just going to let them get away with this? Just think what Isoroku Yamamoto would have done!"

"Who's that?" I ask trying not to throw up.

"A Japanese Marshal Admiral of the Navy and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II," Koh finally lets me go. "Do you know anything about history?!"

"What?! Me not know anything about history!" Koh just flipped a switch in me. "I'm a future archeologist and historian! Your human history sounds amusing at best, but none can compare to Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, an Ancient Dragon Digimon that descended in a time of great disruption in the ancient Digital World, and rescued it from complete collapse."

Babamon's laugh breaks up our debate. "Looks like you're feeling better."

"Huh?" Babamon's right. The knot in my stomach is gone, and my tears are all dried up.

"Coronamon here can teach you digicode. You two can exchange information and see who's history is better. I'm sure some books in your digital library have yet to be translated." Babamon gives a mischievous smirk.

Koh's face begins to glow with eagerness. "You can be quite instrumental to me Coronamon! Come, join me on my escapades to save the digital world. We can research some ancient digital battle tactics and wars together."

"I mean, if there's any way I could help I'd be glad to do anything," I fiddle my fingers.

"Koh we need to go now!" Pulsa pleads.

"Hmph, we may not have gotten the digimental, but we got a new teammate, so everything worked out in the end!" Koh cheers.

"We can also come back for the digimental!" Pulsa counters.

Koh's smile widens as his happiness doubles. "And when we do we'll be unstoppable!"

Babamon hits me on my butt with her cane. "Go get the digimental back, and don't forget to take everything in on the outside. Learn as much as you can."

"I promise I will," it looks like my adventure has only just begun.

* * *

 ** _Hey, just a quick author's note I know not too many people read my story, but I just wanted to say sorry for taking so long. I waited quite a while for my beta reader to message me back with improvements on my story but they never did. I'm not mad at all they have their own stories and lives to live I just wanted to give you a reason why it's been a few months. Without a beta reader, I'm not going to lie the quality of the story might decrease, but this is something I want to finish so sorry in advance hopefully two new chapters will make up for this, and if anybody wants to I'm openly accepting any help with the story._**


	8. Going for bronze

_Ms. Litton isn't happy when Coronamon explains what happened with Kowloon co. She bites her nails to the nub while pacing back and forth. Reminding me of my mom when dad is late coming home._

Ms. Litton's pacing comes to an abrupt stop. "This is a four-star mission," she says with the most serious expression I've ever seen the carefree woman make.

"Is there any way I can help?" a four-star mission means only gold tamers are allowed anywhere near Kowloon co. and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm nowhere near the level of gold.

Ms. Litton takes a deep breath trying to regain her usual happy demeanor. Although she's not quite there yet, it's still better than before. "You did a good job bringing this information in Koh, and you even got a third partner, congratulations. Maybe you're ready for the bronze level?"

"You think?!" my heart skips a beat. If says it, it must be true.

Ms. Litton smiles and ruffles my hair. "Yep, and gathering the remaining digimentals seems like the job of a bronze tamer."

"Well forward that mission to bronze tamer Koh, because I'm going to take the exam right now!" I pound my chest with confidence.

"I'll be rooting for you," Ms. Litton gives me a thumbs up.

* * *

"Team, we're going for bronze!" nobody paid attention to my announcement except Patamon. Coronamon was reading one of my school history books, and Aguman is hitting away at his punching bag as usual.

"I don't think you're quite ready for bronze," Pulso gives me a look of disbelief at what I said.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I got the green light from so we must be ready!" I iron my resolve with this statement.

"We might have a chance, the examiner only uses one champion level Digimon," Patamon ponders the situation.

"You two try not to get in my way, this will be a good chance to test how far my abilities have truly come," Aguman cracks his knuckles showing just as much motivation as me, and I love it.

"I'm still not sure. Maybe you should wait until one of your Digimon has evolved into a champion," Pulso continues to question my plan.

"Come on!" I stomp my foot in frustration. "We also have Komachi's weapons that'll boost our power!"

"Not done yet," Komachi nonchalantly pushes up her glasses.

I can feel Pulso's judging gaze. "We didn't need it anyway! Look Pulso I don't need your approval, I know I'm ready for this!"

Pulso rolls his eyes before letting out a sigh. "If you're so set on doing this then I guess Komachi and I have to come to watch for ourselves. Hopefully, you won't mind?"

"Of course not!" he finally understands, I was just about to get upset at his comments. "Why would I stop anybody from viewing history in the making! The first stop of my rise through the ranks!"

"Why do I have to come?" Komachi asks not caring about the conversation in the slightest as she types away on her laptop.

"Because if he loses, you and I can still get data on the enemy. We can come up with a strategy and maybe make a weapon that'll damage it." Pulso puts his hand on Komachi's shoulder and gives her a warm smile. "Come on. You're apart of this team too."

Komachi looks up at Pulso for a second before exhaling heavily out her nose and shutting her laptop. "Fine, I've never seen a champion level in action, so this could prove useful in making modifications to my weapons."

"Lose?" I'm starting to get irritated again. Why can't Pulso get with the picture."Alright, let's go!"

* * *

 _We all arrive at the digital colosseum, where I'm told the exams take place. The sky up above is both day and night, but neither dusk nor dawn. It's unique, and I can't help but stare at it since everything else in the digital colosseum has the same layout as Sunshine City._

Not paying attention, I accidentally bump into someone knocking myself over. "Sorry about that..." looming over me was Tanpei!

"Tsk, of all the people who I could have met here in the digital world!" Tanpei scoffs.

"Tanpei, my dear classmate!" Pulso helps me up, and I hold out my hand in excitement. "I bet you fell in the digital world looking to thank me for cleaning the classroom! After I earn bronze rank I'll take you back to the real world, it can be dangerous here for non-chosen children!"

"What are you talking about," Tanpei holds up a white digivice with a crimson red outline. Stepping up behind him is a lilac purple dragon with iron-plated armor on its head, shoulders, and hands. Its long amber hair and baggy green pants make it look close to a man, but the dragon features are still apparent.

"Human!" Aguman shout shakes me to my core. I've never heard him sound so angry even when arguing with Patamon. "Is that Monodramon!" he points to the dragon man Digimon.

"Oh, it's you, been awhile," Tanpei waves off Aguman.

"Answer my question!" flames seep from Aguman's mouth.

"It's me Agumon. I've evolved yet again, into Strikdramon," Strikdromon calmly responds a clear contrast to Aguman.

"I'm here to drag you back home!" the venom in Aguman's voice is becoming very toxic.

"You know better than anyone that I belong by Tonpei's side," the eerily calm Strikdromon responses. "My rapid evolution is proof of that."

Aguman screams, now done with the conversation he lunges at Strikdromon.

Strikdromon braces for impact, but before they could clash a large black dart smashes the ground between them. "Fighting outside the arena is prohibited. Anyone who breaks this rule will be punished accordingly." A black centaur-like Digimon with the upper body of a knight piece in chess picks up the dart.

"You think I care about your stupid Union rules?!" Aguman is still wound up, I can't let him ruin everything, so I suck him back into the digivice much to his dismay.

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again," I apologetically bow.

As the knight Digimon strides away a chuckle could be heard from Tanpei. "You can't even control your Digimon. Who's suppose to be the non-chosen here?"

I'm seriously embarrassed now, thanks to Aguman! "This usually doesn't happen, and I don't know why he was so bent out of shape," I try laughing off the situation.

"That Digimon had a crazy firey personality! He was spitting fire better than the best rappers!" a blonde boy with headphones around his neck rests his elbow on Tanpei's shoulder.

"Maybe he was just trying to pull a prank!" a blue haired girl covers her mouth as she giggles.

"Hey, I'm Koh, and I'm about to take the bronze exam," I introduce myself as politely as possible to Tanpei's two friends.

"Haha, where do you think we just came back from," the blue-haired girl annoyingly laughs again. Tanpei shows off a bronze emblem with two wings sewn into his inner coat.

"Tonpei is a tamer that comes once every hundred years," the headphones boy boast his friend's status.

"A weakling like you couldn't keep up if he tried," Tanpei arrogantly announces.

"Don't look down on me just because you got bronze a few minutes earlier," I give Tanpei a sharp glare. "I'm just as strong if not stronger!"

"Talk doesn't matter, only results!" Tanpei shoots a glare right back at me in response.

"Break it up, you two are causing a scene," Komachi stands between us. "Also, please don't insult Tonpei. The reason I came to the digital world is because I followed him in the computer lab ."

Everyone is quiet until a disgustingly loud fart breaks the silence. "Oh wow, pee-yew! There are other ways to break up an argument," the blue-haired girl holds her nose and swats the air.

A flustered Komachi turns beet red. "T-that wasn't me!"

"She was probably demonstrating how she was able to hop through the portal before it closed!" a hawk-like Digimon gleefully jumps up and down.

"You non-chosen ones are resourceful!" a puppy-like Digimon sarcastically states.

"It seems you two are still up to your childish antics, Hawkmon and Salamon," Patamon swoops down and grabs a whoopie cushion from the blue-haired girl.

"Patamon, it's been so long!" Howkmon cheerfully flies up to Patamon.

"It seems you have a partner now!" Salomon scans me from head to toe.

"Yes, Koh is a great tamer who's able to see my true potential," Patamon pridefully puffs out his chest.

"Koh?" Howkmon teasingly nudges Patamon. "I've never heard you call a human by their name before!"

"Seems you've found your fated partner. I'm happy for you Patamon," Salomon says.

"I don't need your approvals," now Patamon is just as red as Komachi.

"You need to get your friend under control Cheetah, that was rude of her!" Pulso instructs the blond boy.

"Um, who are you again?" Cheetah tilts his head to the side in confusion.

"Don't pretend like you're too cool to remember me!" Pulso identifies himself with great pride. "I'm in your class I make the top grades in every test, and we even sit next to each other!"

"Maybe you're just a forgettable guy, kinda like a blank CD nobody ever uses!" Cheetah taunts.

Pulso stutters trying his best to get words out. "I'll show you who's forgettable!" he storms off.

Now's my chance to leave this crap fest. "Well, it was good meeting you all!" I grab Komachi's hand and hastily follow behind Pulso.

Pulso arrives at the sign-up counter for the bronze exam filling out the form with great passion. "Finished!"

When I try to do the same, the teenage counter girl tells me."Sorry, but only one person can take the exam at a time, you'll have to wait until the young man in front of you has finished. If you'd like, you can observe from the bleachers until your turn."

"Tsk, guess I have no choice," I cross my arms and drag my feet to the bleachers.

The arena is just what I expected, like something from a fighting anime. A giant light shines down on the red tile floor. Surprisingly we're not the only ones here. Two other tamers are also in the bleachers watching. As Pulso steps into the arena with his chest puffed out and his head held high, the other two Tamers walk over to Komachi and I. "Hey, so you're the non-chosen one, right?"

Komachi glances over before turning her attention back to Pulso. "Oh wow, she gave you the cold shoulder dude!" the two tamers are dressed very similarly; both had yellow coats with the bronze tamer emblem on their yellow hats. The only difference was their hair color. One boy was a dirty blonde while the other was a brunette.

"I'm talking to you!" the brunette angrily grabs Komachi by the shoulder.

I smack his hand off her in response. "She's ignoring you!"

"Hey, I remember you! You're the kid with the black digivice!" the blonde tamer yanks my digivice from its holster.

"Sorry, can't recall!" I try snatching back my digivice, but he was too fast.

"I thought it was strange how Apemon was acting, so I did a little research, and boy did I find some juicy information!" the boy finally tosses me back my digivice with a smug smile.

"What did you find?" the curiosity of my black digivice gets the better of me.

"And the winner is Ai!" the referee shouts before the Tamer could answer my question.

The brunette burst into laughter. "This kid lost in record time! What was he thinking going for bronze with only a single rookie!"

"Such a waste of time, he won't be any trouble in the tournament," the blonde tamer spits.

"Tournament? What tournament?" I ask.

"The union's tournament of ranks, black digivice!" The blonde tamer answers. "An annual competition that decides who's the best amongst their rank!"

"And the reason you're here is to scope out the competition!" it all clicks together in my head." Well, keep your eyes peeled because Pulso may have lost, but I'll give you something to worry about during this tournament!"

"He's a friend of yours?" the blonde tamer gestures to a defeated-looking Pulso.

"I guess losers of a feather flock together!" the brunette slaps his knee unable to hold back his laughter.

I'm sick of being insulted today. "Come on Komachi!" I scream.

We meet Pulso in the waiting room. "I'm so stupid, why did I do that?!" He ruffles his usual prim and proper hair into a complete mess.

"What happened out there!" Komachi takes a knee to comfort Pulso.

"Her Stingmon's graceful movements made it hard to land an attack, and like an assassin, she took us out with a single blow, aiming right at our vitals!" Pulso pleas with regret in his eyes. "Koh we need to train more, I was right we're jumping the gun!"

"No, I'm fully prepared!" I lift Pulso up by his collar."Just because you looked like an amateur out there doesn't mean I am, but I guess since I know you I'm a loser by association in the eyes of others!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Pulso starts crying right in front of me. When I let him go, he makes a break for the door while covering his face.

"Coronamon, do you know anything about-"

I'm slapped by Komachi who gives me a glare that could halt an army. With a flip of her hair, she leaves as well.

"What's everybody's problem! Today was suppose to be my first step!" I don't have time to worry about this nonsense.

"Um," Coronamon is visibly shaking, understandably scared to say the wrong thing in this situation."Stingmon is an insect type Digimon who's weak against fire-based attacks. He may be fast, but his defense is weak. So a combined attack from the three of us would do the trick."

I take a much-needed breath to calm myself down. "Thanks, Coronamon." It's time to end this annoying day.

Stepping into the same arena as Pulso across from me stands a little girl half my size. "You were the kid causing a scene in the bleachers earlier," this girl could honestly pass for my little sister. She has my complexion along with my hair and eye color.

"This has to be a joke," I shake my head in disbelief and frustration.

"I may look young, but I am your superior," the girl pouts.

"Nobody is my superior!" I stomp my foot. "Especially not a runt like you!"

"Such a rude brat! I guess I'll have to teach you some manners!" the girl pulls out her digivice. "I'm Ai the bronze examiner! Let's see what you got challenger! Exveemon realize!" A blue humanoid dragon with a blade for a horn, and wings on its back comes out the girls digivice.

"Where's Stingmon?!" I wonder if Pulso lied to me in an attempt at sabotage

"You think I would make it easy and use the same Digimon back to back!" the runt points confidently at me

"Koh! Exveemon is resistant to fire-based moves! We can be in big trouble!" Coronamon whimpers.

"Don't you get scared on me Coronamon, we'll just have to hit him with physical attacks then!" I pull out my digivice without fear. "Aguman realize!"

"Argh, tool! Why did you suck me back in that prison?! Strikdramon was right in front of me!" Aguman is still fuming from earlier.

"This isn't the time for that Aguman!" I plead with the reptile. "We have to obtain bronze!"

"I don't care about your stupid union system!" Aguman swats the air. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you!"

I can't back down now. I have to show Aguman who's in charge. "Because your precious Strikdromon already beat this Digimon, and if you can't then you have no chance of facing him!"

"Tsk," Aguman groans knowing I'm right.

"Now after we pass the exam, we'll kick Tanpei in his stupid face, but until then we have to fight!" I punch my hand as hard as I can, in hopes of convincing Aguman of my dedication.

"Fine, let's make this quick!" Aguman stands side by side with Patamon and Coronamon who are all ready for battle.

"Alright, let's start the exam drama queen!" Exveemon charges towards my three Digimon. He quickly knocks Coronamon out the ring with a powerful punch, shattering the wall behind him.

Patamon frantically flies up to get out of the way. "X-Laser!" Exveemon emits an energy wave from the "X" pattern on its chest that blast Patamon out the sky, causing his unconscious body to drop to the ground.

In a matter of seconds, only Aguman remains. This enemy is strong, there's no doubt about that, but he's slow. He only got Coronamon and Patamon because they were caught off guard. So the key to this victory is a battle of counters! "Aguman! Go in close and don't let him hit you!"

"Sharp claw!" Aguman follows my orders, closing the gap between him and Exveeman. Exveeman attempts to stop him with a right hook, but he's easily dodged and parried, leaving a clear mark on his side.

"You got a lot of power for a rookie," Exveeman uses his wings to fly straight up. "X-"

"No, you don't! Baby claw!" Aguman jumps up and uses both his claws to slash upward at the X shaped pattern on Exveeman's chest before it starts to glow.

It looks like that hurt him because he's weakly floating down. "Let's finish this off!" triumph swells up in my chest. I've won and proved everyone wrong today!

"Exveemon, use a downward punch at full power!" Exveeman does as his tamer instructs, but Aguman is able to dodge once again easily.

"Doesn't matter how strong an attack is if it doesn't hit!" the examiner smiles at my comment as the ground begins to shake, throwing Aguman off guard. With one uppercut and no way of defending he's flung out the arena.

"Looks like you lose," Ay holds out her hand. "It was a good match. After you train a bit more, come back to face me again."

My thoughts aren't given form before shouts could be heard from the bleachers. "You showed us some mean competition for the normal tournament Black digivice!"

"All bark and no bite!" the two tamers laugh's echo throughout the arena.

I can't even say anything because this is the right treatment for a loser. I shake Ay's hand and leave. Waiting for me outside is Komachi. "Are you going to slap me again?"

"No, I'm sure your loss stings a lot more right now," she walks up and stares at me with her big brown eyes.

"Are you here to mock me as well, then hurry and get it over with," I don't even dare to look back at her

"No, I'm here to see how you're doing?" Komachi gently puts her hand on my still red cheek. It feels very soothing.

"I'm doing fine. I lost so this is to be expected," I tighten my fist. "But I'll show them! I'll train three, no, four times harder and crush every last one of them in their precious tournament of ranks! Then they'll know I'm not one to laugh at!"

"Even if you win, you'll still be all alone with no one to share that victory with, so what's the point?" Komachi removes her hand, and my face feels oddly lonely.

"The point is to be the best!" An image of my father and mother pop in my head. "Only the strong can survive in the digital world, and only the strongest can save it!"

"Strength is something you can't achieve alone." Komachi intertwines her fingers. "You're hurt right now, Pulsa is hurt right now, and only through supporting each other will you feel better."

"I'm... I'm fine..." I bite my lip.

"Stop being stubborn for two seconds!" Komachi finally snaps. "Go apologize to Pulsa already!"

"For what, telling the truth!" I snap right back, refusing to be a beta male.

"For being a bad friend." Komachi turns away and walks off. "He's at his home if you wanted to know."

 _Friends, I've never had any. Dad says only the people dear to you can be called friends. Pulso was just an assistant at best. We used each other to become stronger. All we ever did was study together, go on missions together, shop together, sometimes eat together, and occasionally he would sleep over... Now that I think about it, when did I start spending so much time with him? Would my adventures in the digital world be the same without him? I guess it couldn't hurt to visit._

* * *

I slowly creep into Pulso's cabin. "What do you want?" Pulso doesn't even turn around to address me, making me feel unwanted.

"I failed the exam," I begin to fidget nervously. "You were right! We need to train more!"

"Yeah, I do," Pulso's words cut deeper than knives.

I try to save the conversation. "Let's head over to the digital library. Maybe we can come up with a strategy while we're there."

"No thanks," Pulso responds instantly.

I don't know what to say, but I also don't want this atmosphere anymore. "Pulsa..." Komachi was right. I need to... "I'm sorry."

"What?" Pulsa looks up at me in shock, and honestly, I'm still surprised as well.

"I didn't listen to you even though I should have. My loss was well deserved today," I scratch the side of my cheek in embarrassment. "You were always there helping me, and I'm just now realizing that. Now I want to help you... so can you please tell me what's wrong?"

Pulsa and I sit in silence for a minute before he opens up to me."I was always ignored in school no matter how hard I tried or what I said. So when I came into the digital world, I felt truly special. Imagine the stories only I could tell my classmates, but not only am I a dime a dozen, I'm also a pretty bad tamer. I guess no matter what, I'll never be heard."

The best thing right now is to be honest, and speak from the heart."I think you're very interesting and brilliant!"

"You're just saying that!" Pulsa tries shrugging me off, but I won't let him.

"No, I'm serious!" I grab his shoulder and force eye contact. "You're the only person I can relax with and talk to. Studying with you is so easy, and I feel like you're better than any teacher I've had. So don't say nobody hears you, or that you're not special! Because you're my first friend, and that's an incredible honor that'll go down in the history books!"

Pulsa gives me an unexpected hug. I hesitate for a second, but I hug him back as tight as I could. "You're my first friend as well!"

"Do you think Komachi feels the same?" I ask the question with fear of what the answer would be.

"Of course, we're a trio after all!" my heart is set at ease by Pulsa's words.

"Yeah!" I smile.

Pulsa let's go of me and punches my arm. "So are you ready for some training!"

I punch Pulsa's arm right back. "How about we just relax for a little while, and get to know each other better."

"Of course, but we can't do that without Komachi!" Pulsa hops up like a spring.

"Yeah, you're right as usual!" I'm helped up by Pulsa.

"Let's go get her! She should be at home!"

* * *

 _ **Thanks again to everybody who read these two chapters I hope you enjoyed them and I'll try my best to crank out some more!**_


	9. Family

_My worst fear came true, I was too weak. Strikdramon is now a champion, and I'm still a rookie, even though I was always the strongest of our group. Did I pick the wrong human, am I just wasting my time trying to catch up to him? I don't know anymore, my loss against Exveemon made me once again realize the gap between a rookie and champion level._

"Hey you okay Aguman?" The tool asks from across the room. "You haven't taken a swing at your sandbag since the bronze exam."

"What's the point?" The tool and his blonde friend look over at me with concern, but I don't need their pity I want to be left alone.

"Hey, it's been a while let's go on a mission!" The blonde boy suggests, bending over to look me in the eye with a smile.

"Not in the mood?" I turn my head away from him in irritation.

"Well, I'm not taking no for an answer! Komachi has a new weapon we need to test out." The tool sucks me into the digivice alongside the lion cub and the flying rat.

"We'll leave Komachi here so she can get some rest." The blonde boy puts a blanket on the girl with glasses who is drooling all over her laptop. "She's probably exhausted from working on the equipment."

From inside the empty void, the lion cub holds out his hand. "Hey, I don't think we formally introduced ourselves my name is Coronamon."

"Don't care, " I say as I curl up in a ball.

"Did I do something to offend you? the lion cub panics worryingly.

"Don't let lizard brain get to you rookie. He's just being a baby because he can't handle a loss," the flying rat gives me a cocky smirk.

"What do you know!" I snarl because he doesn't understand.

"Please be nice !" the lion cub jumps between us. "As for you there's no reason to be upset! You were up against a champion, but lasted longer than all of us! If anything you should be proud!"

"Tsk, just leave me alone," I continue to sulk in my corner of the digivice.

* * *

 _As we're dragged around, voices echo from the outside. Although I want to ignore them, I have no choice since they're booming as if coming from a speaker._

"Hmm, I wonder what kind of mission we should do?" the blonde boy scans the wall and loudly scratches his chin.

"I'm looking for a certain mission," the tool gasps in excitement as he snatches a mission off the wall. "Oh, here's one!"

The tool happily skips over to the mission counter, but the young teen behind it pays him no mind, continuing to read his magazine.

"Hey Shark we have a mission!" the blonde boy waves his arms to get his attention, but with no luck.

"Shork we have a mission!" the tools voice echoes inside the mission center.

"I heard you the first time," the spiky-haired teen digs a little bit of wax out his ears. "But why should I give someone with a black digivice a mission?"

"Oh, I thought you had headphones in or something!" the tool laughed.

"Why should the color of his digivice even matter!" the blonde boy shouts, getting slightly upset at the teen.

"Pulsa I don't really like you all that much, but here's a warning," the attendant put his hand on the blond boy's shoulder. "Stay away from this kid the black digivice has a scary history, and everyone is starting to figure that out.

"The past doesn't matter because those people aren't Koh!" the blonde boys swats the attendant's hand away. "Now you have an obligation as a mission attendant to give us any mission we're qualified to complete, so do your job before I tell higher-ups!"

The attendant smacks his teeth and takes both digivices to scan the mission onto them. "Just get out of my face, there's no helping you."

"Let's go Pulsa," the tool gives a wry smile as he grabs the blonde boy's hand and leads him to the exit.

* * *

"Aguman, Patamon, and Coronamon realize!" the tool finally lets us out his digivice.

I don't believe my eyes. The beating sun, the barren wasteland, it's my home! "But how did you know?!"

"I asked , and she said she found me here in Task Canyon," the tool sheepishly scratches his nose. "I don't know what's been on your mind, but hopefully being home will help you clear your head."

Why is the tool doing this? If he saw I wasn't in top form, he should have just thrown me out. "What's the mission consist of?"

"It would seem Digimon have gone missing not only in this area but multiple others throughout the digital world," the blonde boy explains. "This is the last known location of a missing report."

"I'm sure their families must be worried," the tool clutches his fist close to his heart.

"Family..." Why does that word make my heart hurt so much?

"You say something Aguman?" the tool tilts his head in curiosity.

"I didn't say anything, but I may know where we could start our search." I begin walking down a familiar path because from here I know exactly where to go. The walk feels like it's taking forever, even though it's a short distance each step feels like a mile. I don't know why I feel this way.

"I didn't miss this heat," the tools wipes an absurd amount of sweat off his forehead. "Patamon use your wings to give me shade."

"No!" The flying rat says as he slowly walks beside the tool too exhausted to even hover. "That would mean I would be the only one getting hot!"

"We should have brought sunscreen," the blonde boy tries his best to stay cool by fanning himself.

"I like the heat! I feel full of energy!" the lion cub happily says as the flame atop his head burns higher and brighter than usual.

"Everyone quiet down, we're here!" In front of me stands a small wooden hut. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm a little scared to open the door, but I've come too far to turn back now. "Hello?" I slowly peek my head inside.

"Who's there? I have nothing for you to take so leave." That familiar voice causes my eyes to swell up. It takes all my strength to hold back the tears, but I somehow manage.

"Guilmon?" I hesitantly walk inside. "I thought you said you wouldn't be here when I came back.

"Agumon..." Guilmon looks at me with shock before regaining his exposure. "Then I would assume you managed to bring the brat back with you."

It takes me a minute to answer his question. "No... I'm still not strong enough." I couldn't even look Guilmon in the eyes when I spoke.

A vein pops on Guilmon's forehead. "So you left for nothing, huh?" his anger is clearly boiling over into his voice making it raspy.

"I had to try!" I take a step forward. "Chibimon was also apart of our family! I just wanted us to all be together again!"

Guilmon seemingly calms down and begins creepily laughing out of nowhere. "Well congratulations Agumon, you tore up the remainder of this family on a whim that you couldn't even see through."

I bite down on my lower lip because I know he's right. I shouldn't have left, I should have just stayed with Guilmon maybe then I wouldn't feel so defeated. "Look, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I was stupid for thinking you could do it." Guilmon wags his tail, the tip of it still missing from the battle with Dinyohumon. "I'll take over things from here."

"What are you talking about?" If I couldn't bring back Strikdramon what chance does he have?

Guilmon gives a sly smirk. "Some shady Digimon have been snooping around this area looking for customers."

"What do you mean?" I ask Guilmon. He isn't usually the type to keep secrets.

"Just follow me." Guilmon stops opening the door halfway. "And I would recommend for your union friends to stay hidden."

I look over to the tool who's standing there shaking like a leaf. "Koh, what's wrong?" the blonde boy asks with genuine concern.

"I promise to tell you later Pulsa, now's not the time," the tool is the first to leave the hut.

* * *

With the tool and the blonde boy hidden behind a cliff in the distance, Guilmon and I arrive at a somewhat short line of Digimon. "Now we wait." Guilmon eagerly stands in line.

"What are we waiting for?" I glance awkwardly at Guilmon.

"Look," Guilmon gestures his head to the front of the line.

Peeking out of line I see a large piece of red machinery. In front of it is a long burgundy serpentine with a blade-like helmet. "That's WaruSeadramon! He's a member of Kowloon co!" the lion cub points.

"Keep your voice down," Patamon whispers just loud enough for everyone to here. "So is that the device that forces evolution?"

Coronamon who had covered his mouth due to realizing how loud he was, slowly opened his fingers so he could speak. "Yes, it uses the power of the digimental somehow."

"Looks like you guys are caught up," Guilmon crosses his arms. "Yes, Kowloon co. has been traveling the digital world with the promise of evolution in exchange for profit."

"Then this explains the missing Digimon," Patamon immediately figures out.

The conversation is cut short by a cry of agony coming from inside the machine. When the smoke clears, and the doors open nothing comes out. "What happened?" Coronamon gasps.

"Most Digimon who go in that machine don't survive," Guilmon looks to the ground with a hint of hesitation that only I notice. "Even their data is vaporized, so there's no chance of being reborn into a digiegg."

"What! I can't let you do something like this!" I grab Guilmon's arm to plead with him. "We don't have to go after Chibimon anymore, I'll come back home with you."

"But you won't be the same!" Guilmon shouts as another Digimon screams in agony inside the machine. "Even if you come back you'll always be thinking of him and the regret of not being able to bring him home. That will be too painful for me to watch!"

I notice the door open up and once again nothing comes out, causing my heart to skip a beat in fear. "If I lose you I'll have no one, so please Guilmon!"

Guilmon emotionlessly watches the door open up as nothing comes out. "That's a risk I'm willing to take!" From the look in Guilmon's eyes, I can tell his resolve has hardened.

"Lizard brain come on, we have to report this back to the union quickly!" The flying rat whispers in a serious tone as another Digimon steps inside the machine.

"I can't leave Guilmon again!" I cry out. We're the next ones in line. I have to hurry up and convince him not to go through with this.

"Please don't be stubborn we have to hurry and warn Koh!" the lion cub frantically shakes me, but I push him to the ground with ease.

"Then leave!" I glare at the two.

"Suit yourself!" The flying rat says as he runs to the direction of the Tamers with the lion cub.

"Looks like we're next," Guilmon walks in front of the machine.

"Payment?" WaruSeadramon towers over us and asks.

"I don't have enough money to pay for this," Guilmon proudly states.

WaruSeadramon gets irritated. "Then scram! No freeloaders."

Guilmon opens up his arms. "I may not have physical cash, but what I do have is information."

"What kind of information?" WaruSeadramon's curiosity is visibly seen on his face.

"How much would for the information of two union tamers trying to thwart your plans?" Guilmon smiles.

"Union tamers where!" WaruSeadramon frantically scans the area.

"Guilmon what are you doing!" I shout.

Guilmon completely ignores me. "They're behind that cliff right over there!" He points to their exact location without a second thought.

"Thunder Javelin!" WaruSeadramon fires a high voltage charge from the blade on its head directly at the cliff, shattering it into a million tiny pieces.

The tool and everyone else managed to survive the blast though they're a little battered and bruised. "How did he find us!" the blonde boy asks as he helps his Digimon up.

"Good info, go ahead and step in while I handle these pests." WaruSeadramon slithers menacingly towards the others.

Guilmon makes a dash towards the machine. I try grabbing his hand, but I couldn't react in time, and he slips out of my grasp. "Just remember I'm doing all this to get our family back together!" the door slam shuts and the sparks of electricity start shooting out like crazy.

There is no screaming coming from inside just painful groans, but I still have to find a way to get him out! "Baby Volcano!" I shoot out the largest fireball I've ever done, but it doesn't even leave a mark on the machine.

The process is quicker than I thought. I know I've run out of time when the door opens and a sea of smoke leaks out, but my heart is set at ease when I see Guilmon's usual crimson scales step out. "Now this is power!" Guilmon clutches his hands. His body has grown gigantic, and his upper body has been metalized with Chrome Digizoid with two massive Blades equipped to his arms.

"Guilmon you're alive!" I'm overwhelmed with joy, but at the same time something feels off.

Guilmon laughs hysterically. "The name's not Guilmon anymore. Call me WarGrowlmon!"

"Okay... WarGrowlmon," I can feel a bead of sweat slowly rolling down the side of my face.

"Now come with me so we can go to the union and get that brat back," WarGrowlmon scratches his metal chin. "I thought once he's reborn as an egg I'll raise him this time. You gave him way too much freedom which is why he turned out this way."

"I don't think we should go to the union they're Mega level Digimon guarding the entrance!" I'm confused since Wargrowlmon has never been this reckless before.

"You're right, I just got a little head high from becoming an Ultimate level." WarGrowlmon takes a knee, but he's still five times my size. "Then we'll do this. Next mission that brat goes on you give me the location, and I'll handle him there."

"I don't think deleting him is the best. Then he won't be the same after he's reborn!" I protest.

WarGrowlmon looks at me with pure disgust. "You've had your chance now it's mine! Remember who was always the strategist in the group."

"I know but-"

WarGrowlmon smashes his fist deep into the ground knocking me off balance. "I don't want to do this, but if you keep talking back, I'll have to delete you as well."

What did that machine do to his mind? "Yes, sir..." I don't even dare to stand up, so I stay lying down.

"Good!" WarGrowlmon smiles as if he didn't just threaten my life. "Oh wow, it would seem your tamer friend over there isn't dead yet?"

I look over to see the lion cub talking to WaruSeadramon. If I remember correctly they were friends for a day or so. "If he dies we won't be able to complete your plan."

"You're right," WarGrowlmon stands up and slowly walks over to the conflict. "I guess I'll have a word with WaruSeadramon."

As I lean back up my eyes, fixate on the open door of the evolution machine. "Maybe WarGrowlmon is right, and maybe this is the only way to get stronger?" I take one long step after the other towards the machine.

"STOP!" I hear the tool shout from a distance. I turn around to him panting heavily, it seems that scream took a lot out of him. "This isn't what your family would want!"

"And how would you know what they would want!" I respond in anger.

"Because you aren't listening to each other!" He responds with similar anger. "This is why you fell apart in the first place! You're doing what you think is best for the family instead of listening to each other and forming a compromise!"

"How..." I'm left speechless, it's like the kid is speaking from experience.

"I know because the same thing is happening to my family right now!" the tools voice of anger shifts to that of sadness. "I know the pain you feel, and your sense of uselessness during the situation!"

"It's too late now! This is the only way!" I feel myself getting affected by the tools sad energy.

"No, it's not!" He stupidly runs by the two ultimate level Digimon towards me. "Because I'm here to help you! You can still try listening to your family, starting with Strikdramon!"

"Tool..." I feel tears I've been holding back this whole time pouring down my face.

"Don't ever feel like giving up when I'm around!" The tool grabs both my hands. "We'll fix your family together, and maybe by helping you, I'll figure out how to fix mine!"

The digivice in the tools pocket glows, and I feel a strong warmth coming from inside me. My body grows as I become a darker shade of orange than before. Blue stripes appear on my sides, along with three sharp horns on my newly hardened head. "I evolved... On my own?"

"Wow, you're huge Agumon!" the tool jumps up and down in excitement.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You finally got my name right, but it's Greymon now."

"Won't happen again Greymon!" the tool gives me a salute.

"So what do we do now?" The situation seems hopeless, but I have faith that this boy can turn it around.

He crosses his arms and gives a disgruntled look before snapping his fingers. "I have a plan, I need you to get the digimental out of this machine, and let me handle the rest!"

"Yes sir!" I grab onto the small outline of a door I assume to be where the Digimental is and pull with all my might.

"Hey WaruSeadrmon! We're taking the digimental back!" the tool taunts from a distance.

"What, why you little! Thunder-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you! Wouldn't want to destroy the machine with all that power accidentally!" the tool sticks out his tongue and pulls down his bottom eyelid.

"Then I'll just get up close and personal!" WaruSeadramon slithers towards us.

"What are you doing!" I say in confusion as I finally pull off the door revealing the digimental of purity.

"Just trust me," the tool smiles. "So are you going to delete us or give us a stern talking to!"

"Of course I'll delete you two and crush the eggs on my horn!" Waruseadrmon responds, but as soon as he does his tail is grabbed by none other than WarGrowlmon.

"You're not laying a hand on them!" Wargrowlmon says as he yanks Waruseadramon towards him.

The tool grabs the digimental and latches onto my tail. "Now that those two are taken care of we can get out of here!"

I make my way to the others giving WarGrowlmon one final glance before I do. "You got the digimental!" the blonde boy happily grabs the tools hand as they both suck their remaining Digimon in their digivices.

"You've all made enemies with Kowloon co! If we see you anywhere in the digital world, you're done!" Waruseadrmon announces with his tail wrapped around WarGrowlmon's throat.

 _I tune everything out my head, hoping WarGowlmon will survive until I come back for him._

* * *

It takes a while to go back to the union and meet up with Litton. "That was reckless!" Litton hits the tool on top of his head with enough force to make a thud sound. "If you saw an ultimate you should have immediately headed back!"

"I'm sorry , but at least we got the digimental back!" The tool gleefully holds up the egg only to be hit again by Litton.

"You're life is more important than a digimental!" Litton snatches the egg and hands it over to a nearby tamer. "It will now be under the protection of Gold tamers, so you can be dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am," the tool rubs the top of his head as he heads to the warp pad.

"And one more thing!" Litton shouts. "Good job today! I'm glad you're okay!"

I can see the tool blush ever so slightly before warping away. "Now we have to worry about Kowloon co from now on." the tool says as he puts his hands behind his head.

"Why didn't you tell her the whole story about what Waruseadramon said at the end?" the blonde boy wonders.

"Because if I did, I would be stuck at home or even worse sent back to the real world!" The tool stops walking to look the blonde boy in the eye. "Pulsa I feel like we can handle this together! You, Komachi, and I can make a difference, and maybe through this journey we can grow as people."

"You're right buddy!" the blonde boy smiles. "A day with you is always exhausting, so I'll head home for the day." he waves goodbye, but his Digimon stays behind.

"Um, ?" the green clam looks up to me with puppy dog eyes. "I thought you looked cool today evolving!" the little Digimon scurries off with his tamer.

"Looks like you have a fan," the tool nudges my leg.

"I'm not the right Digimon for the kid to look up to," I say.

"Sure you are partner! Have more faith in yourself!" the tool gently rubs my tail.

"Partner, not tool?" I say in confusion at the foreign concept.

"Of course we're not each other's tools. After today we're partners fighting towards a common goal." He looks up at me with a glimmer in his eyes. It is a look I know I can believe in.

"If you say so... Partner."

* * *

 _ **It's been a long time I'm sure you guys have forgotten about this story or didn't care for it in the first place lol. I will admit I stopped writing because losing favs gets to you especially after losing your beta reader. It just made me feel like my writing wasn't good enough but seeing one of my fav Digimon writers Aiko make a new chapter in the Digimon dusk series and another Digimon dawn story get realized I thought it was time to get back on the horse , so here's chapter 9! I hope you guys enjoy it and if you decide to unfav because it took to long or my story isn't going the direction you thought please PM the reason so I can improve!**_


	10. Second times the charm

_Today is the day Koh and his friend Pulsa have been waiting for. They both are going to try and become bronze tamers once again. Last time ended in utter defeat but I can personally vouch that they've been training none stop since that day to improve their skills. Lizard brain has become a champion level so we should have a better chance than last time, but Pulsa still has only Syakomon a rookie level so he'll have to depend more on strategy if he wants to win the day._

"And with that, you should be able to win!" Koh drops his pencil and stretches his arms up.

Pulsa picks up the notebook and reads over it. "Do you think I can beat a champion level?"

"Of course! We spent days studying, watching, and coming up with the perfect strategy that suits your Digimon!" Koh leans back in his chair balancing himself on its two hind legs.

"I've also made the final improvements on the equipment I made for Syakomon," Komachi presses enter on her Laptop and the information transfers instantly to Pulsa's digivice.

Pulsa holds his chest and takes a deep breath. "You guys are right. I need to have more confidence in Syakomon and I!"

Koh throws a blanket at Pulsa's face. "Good to hear! Now it's time for bed!"

"You don't care if we stay over?" Pulsa questions as he wraps the blankets around himself.

"Komachi already fell asleep, so I don't see the big deal," Koh gently puts a blanket over his snoring friend.

"She needs to stop working herself to the point of exhaustion." Pulsa lays down on the couch.

"We need to make her a work schedule or something," Koh flips sideways on his bed to stare at me. "You excited for tomorrow Patamon?"

"Why would I be, I'm not fighting?" I say as I tear my eyes away from the book I was reading to answer him.

Koh pinches my nose. "Don't be like that! A win for one of us is a win for all of us!"

"Whatever you say, Koh," I shake my head. "Now it's time for you to go to bed."

Koh shares his blanket with me as he happily drifts to sleep. "Yeah, you're right. Goodnight Patamon"

I watch my tamer sleep with a goofy smile on his face, and I could help but silently laugh. "Goodnight Koh."

* * *

"Wake up you two lazy bums!" Pulsa screams as he throws pillows at both Komachi and Koh. "We overslept!"

"Overslept?" Koh uses the pillow thrown at him to cover his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Today is the last day to take the bronze exam!" Pulsa makes his way to the bathroom, and running water could be heard coming from inside. "Everybody's probably taking the exam last minute! If we don't hurry, we'll lose our chance!"

"Wait, what!" The information finally sinks into Koh's had as he frantically tries getting out of bed but gets caught up in the covers and falls harshly on the ground.

"Ugh, so there's going to be a crowd of people," Komachi's face looks visibly displeased at the idea of going out in public.

"I'm ready!" Pulsa steps out the bathroom with his hair especially prim and proper.

"Ready!" Unlike Pulsa, Koh still has bed hair, but his goggles are shining brightly.

"Guess I have no choice," Komachi says as she closes her laptop.

* * *

 _When we arrive at the Colosseum reception desk, it's just as Pulsa feared the line looked like it stretched for miles. We wait for nearly two hours before getting to the front._

"That wait was torture!" Pulsa drags his feet to the female receptionist who happily takes his digivice.

"Thank you for signing up today!" The female receptionist smiles. "I wish you the best of luck in your promotion!"

"Th-Thank you!" Pulsa blushes as he moves out the way for Koh to step up.

"Well, it's about time!" Koh cockily pulls out his digivice. "Go ahead and just promote me, I don't want to waste everybody's time."

The female receptionist is about to take his digivice until she gets a good look at it. "I just remembered that all the slots for promotion exams are full for the day!" She says as she puts a closed sign on her counter and types away on her computer.

"Crap!" Koh pulls his hair and slams his head on the counter. "Why did I oversleep!"

Komachi slaps the back of his neck. "There's no time for moping it's your fault. Right now we have to support Pulsa."

"You're right!" Koh quickly gets over his depression to slap Pulsa on the back.

 _As we're walking away, I notice the female attendant remove the closed sign and let the Tamer behind Koh register with no problem. As much as I would want to speak out, I feel like Koh knows the real reason he was turned away and saying something about it would accomplish nothing._

"Mr. Patamon, we have to go find seats!" Coronamon shouts snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah, my apologies," I turn my head away from the blatant discrimination.

We wait another two or so more hours in the bleachers watching Tamers going for bronze, silver, and Gold. Some pass, but most fail their exams. Koh and Komachi's eyes light up when they see Pulsa awkwardly march in with nervous sweat dripping from his face. "Do you think he is going to be okay?" Coronamon asks.

Koh smugly crosses his arms and puffs out his chest. "Of course! Most of the Tamers who won just powered their way through, but we have an actual strategy that will throw them off guard!"

"A battle is won before it even starts," Komachi adds as she cups her chin. "But simulations and actual combat are two different things altogether."

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Ai the bronze examiner." The small girl from before says as she rolls her stiff shoulders making a cracking noise with each rotation.

Pulsa clutches his fist and looks up at Ai with a fire in his eye that I've never seen before. "I won't lose this time!"

"I'm sorry, but have you taken the test before? I go through a lot of Tamers so you'll have to excuse me if I forget who you are." Ai mutters in a monotone voice most likely exhausted from the constant exams.

Pulsa stumbles back his confidence taken a slight hit, but he immediately pulls out his digivice realizing Syakomon. "My name is Pulsa the future Platinum Tamer of Light fang, and after today you'll never forget it again!"

 _Everybody in the arena laughs in unison and rightfully so. Nobody in this generation has reached the rank of Platinum not even Litton, the Vice Chief of the entire union. The Platinum rank is a story of the past last achieved by the Tamer King over four hundred thousand years ago._

"You'll have to make bronze first! Stingmon realize!" Ai gives a tired smirk as out her digivice appears a humanoid green insect Digimon. Stingmon has sharp claws, bug-like wings, and spikes on its shoulders.

"Water shot!" Pulsa makes the first move ordering Syakomon to shoot a stream of water at the hovering Stingmon.

Stingmon easily dodges the attack that disperses in the air and sprinkles down like rain. "Too slow," Ai sticks out her tongue.

"Water Shot!" Pulsa says ignoring Ai's taunt.

Stingmon once again evades the attack causing more water to fall to the ground. "My turn! Spiking Finish!" Ai shouts as her partner dives toward Syakomon with a sharp needle sticking from his forearm.

"Another water shot!" Pulsa shouts in response.

Stingmon twirls out the way of the attack, not slowing down his onslaught in the slightest. "That isn't working," Ai rolls her eyes annoyed at the repetitive attack.

"Realize bronze shield!" Pulsa holds up his digivice and in a flash of light Syakomon's usual pink shell turns brown as he hides away in it.

Stingmon's needle shatters on contact with Syakomon's shell. "What the?!" Ai says as her partner flies back to regain his distance.

"Black pearl!" Syakomon pops from outside his shell to fire three black pearls in rapid succession.

"I already said you're too slow!" Stingmon avoids the first two pearls, but the third one nicked his side cracking his outer armor. "What happened? Stingmon should have been much faster than you!"

"Everything's coming together! Water Shot!" Pulsa smirks as Syakomon spits out another stream of water in the air.

"Move!" Stingmon does as he's ordered and that's when Ai realizes what's going on. She holds out her hand to catch the droplets of water falling. "You weren't aiming for Stingmon! You meant to miss so that the water could cover the area, making Stingmon's wings wet and heavy which slows him down considerably!"

"Too little too late! Black pearl!" Syakomon's attack hits Stingmon two times instead of one.

"I don't need speed if I keep my distance! Moon Shooter!" Stingmon flies higher than before and fires off his non-broken needle.

"Water screw out the way! Syakomon uses the pressurized blast as commanded combined with the water already on the ground to slide around easily.

"Stay still!" Ai stomps her foot as each spike fired misses its target.

"Doesn't feel too good not being able to hit your target, but unlike you I won't miss!" Syakomon slips behind Stingmon and aims his Water screw at his wings.

"No!" Ai screams as a soaked Stingmon struggles to flap his wings.

"Yes! Now Syakomon one final Black pearl!" All three of Pulsa's attacks hit launching Stingmon out the arena.

The arena is quite. Pulsa pants heavily as he looks at his defeated opponent. "I won..."

"WOOOOOO!" Koh stands up and claps causing the rest of the arena to go wild.

"I can't believe you beat us with a rookie." Ai holds out her hand with a smile.

Pulsa shakes her hand with a massive grin on his face. "Well Stingmon was fast and his attacks precise but he lacked defense, so If I found a way to take his speed then I knew I would have a chance of winning."

"Then I guess I better work on that," Ai gives Pulsa a wink. "I'll be rooting for you at the tournament!"

Pulsa's face turns red as he looks around the arena at the cheering crowd. "Everybody's looking at me!" His digivice glows as it engulfs Syakomon in its light.

"Everybody's looking at us!" Syakomon smiles down on Pulsa in his new form now resembling more of a hermit crab than a clam. His new pink body now has two large arms with green dreads on his head.

"Syakomon, you evolved into Shellmon!" Pulsa says with stars in his eyes.

"I thought you were tough before, but with a champion, the bronze tournament should be a breeze for you!" Ai crosses her arms.

Pulsa rubs under his nose his face beet red. "Is it embarrassing to say that I feel like the hero of a story right now."

"Not at all," Shellmon smiles.

"I guess we better meet up with him," Komachi stands up from her seat. "You coming?" She looks down at Koh who was still sitting.

Koh fiddles with his digivice before answering. "I think it's best if Pulsa isn't seen with me too often in public. I'll message him to come over later."

"Pulsa doesn't care about these baseless rumors going on about you!" Komachi snatches his digivice away.

"I know he doesn't," Koh smiles as he gently takes his digivice back. "But I do, now let's go. I was thinking of going to the digi-mart and getting supplies for a surprise party!"

"If that's what you want," Komachi says as she walks past Koh. "I'll get the party supplies you handle the food."

"Sounds like a plan!" Koh hops out his seat.

"You're not going to ask her what she wants?" Coronamon wonders.

"Nope, I already know! Now let's get going!" Koh fights through the crowd to find the exit, sucking Coronamon and me inside his digivice, so we don't get separated.

"Well look who decided to stop by?" Lizard brain says as he sits criss-cross in the void.

"It's good to see you Mr. Greymon! Sorry you can't come out as often, but Koh says he doesn't want to draw attention to himself." Coronamon explains as he playfully climbs on the champion level's head.

"I could care less about aimlessly walking among the masses," Lizard brain yawns. "But I am curious how the kid handled his exam."

"Oh, Syakomon won! He beat a champion level, can you believe it!" Coronamon rocks back and forth on Lizard brains front horn. "And what's even more amazing after the battle was over he evolved!"

"So the kid evolved," Lizard brain chuckles. "What's taking you so long flying rat, just can't hack it?"

"I don't need to evolve to show my worth!" I fly up to make eye contact with Lizard brain not afraid of his new massive size.

"Digimon are born to fight and get stronger, and if you can't do that, you'll be nothing but data for those who are trying to achieve greater heights," Lizard brain flicks me away. "Don't let these humans make you think it's okay to be some glorified pet."

 _As I hurdle through the void, memories of my past life come rushing back. **"What are you waiting for, do it!"** The tall shady figure shouts._

 _I look down at a small Digimon shaking in fear with tears in its eyes. **"But why? He already lost, we can just walk away!"**_

 _The shady figure grabs me by the head and shoves me face first into the dirt. **"Because we need the data so you can evolve and not be a useless piece of crap! Now either you delete him, or I delete you!"** He whispers in my ear._

 _I yank my face from the dirt and give the frightened Digimon one final look before closing my eyes. I spit out a small fireball that causes him to scream out in agony before complete silence. As I start absorbing the data my body becomes hot. I can feel a change coming from inside, and I don't like it. My mind goes blank and and_

"Koh, let me out of here!" I cry out, my mind now focused back on the present. "Please!"

"Patamon realize!" Koh calls me out as requested and I fly into his arms with tears in my eyes. "What's wrong Patamon?"

"Nothing I just wanted to get out the digivice!" Being in Koh's arms soothes me. The memories are starting to fade, and I'm calming down ever so slightly.

"If you say so," Koh flips me around to show me the store we're in. "I was just about to get food is there anything you want?"

"Just the standard digi-food will be fine," I casually respond.

"Ah come on, you don't have to eat that slop it tastes like dog food." Koh sticks out his tongue as if he's about to throw up. "You can have anything you want! What's your favorite meal?"

"I don't have one." I fly out of Koh's arms and onto the ground feeling completely calm now.

"Really?" Koh looks at me with confusion for a second before shrugging it off.

 _As we walk through the store picking out a variety of food I come across a mirror. At first, there's nothing special about it, but at the same time, I can't pull my eyes away. My reflection slowly changes into a demon-beast with four glowing red eyes, jet black wings, and crimson claws. The form creepily crawls halfway out the mirror with its mouth wide open drooling heavily on the floor, revealing its razor-sharp teeth. "Air shot!" I panic and attack the Digimon but he disappears, and all I hit is glass that shatters everywhere, drawing the attention of everyone in the store._

"Patamon what happened!" Koh runs over to me, picking my shivering body up! When everybody in the store notices the cause of the commotion is Koh they each ready their digivices at him.

"No, I don't want to go back! Please don't make me go back!" Koh pats my head as I panic once again in his arms.

"It's okay I'm not letting you go this time!" Koh grabs the bags, pays for the food, and leaves the store all with dirty looks on him the whole time. "Coronamon realize!"

Coronamon comes out and is handed Koh's digivice. "What's this for?" He asks.

"Take Greymon back home and help Komachi set up decorations, she should be done shopping by now." Koh lightly pushes Coronamon

Coronamon uses the momentum to pick up speed. "Okay!" He shouts as he runs off.

"Here have some of this," Koh hands me a roll of sushi as he sits down on a nearby bench.

"I'm not hungry," I turn my head away.

"Come on it's my favorite!" He happily eats the first roll of sushi and then gets out another holding it close to my mouth.

I take a small bite of the raw fish, and my eyes widen ever so slightly. "It's good!" I finish off the rest of it in my second bite.

Koh laughs. "Patamon I may still not be good at talking to others or understanding feelings, but I know something's wrong. It's just the two of us, so please tell me. I hate seeing you like this."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I don't want to tell this story, but I feel like I owe Koh at least this much. "In my past life I was known as Tsukaimon, and I was one of the many partners the BT Boss or as history will remember him, the first owner of a black digivice."

This caught Koh's attention as he looks at me with extreme focus. "BT?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculous meaning of the acronym. "Bad tamers. It's what they were called since they never gave themselves a name. My tamer lead this group with an iron fist. They all feared him, or at least what he would do to them."

Koh twiddles his thumbs struggling to ask his next question. "What kind of things did they do that made them so bad?"

"Back when the union was still young, humans didn't have much presence in the digital world. Most Tamers wanted to help and befriend Digimon, but not my Tamer. He saw the digital world as his plaything, so he would go to uncharted areas and cause havoc making the rest of the digital world hate humans. When other Tamers tried to stop him, he would dispose of them as well." I explained in detail.

"What was his name?" Koh asked.

"I don't remember," I shake my head. "Most of my previous life is a blur. Only the truly traumatic events pop up from time to time, and when they do, it's like I'm reliving those moments. Evolution is something grained into my very being, becoming Devidramon once again is my worse fear because I deleted so many innocent Digimon in that form for no good reason other than my Tamer's amusement. When I evolved even further into Kimeramon, entire villages would burn beneath me. I was only stopped thanks to the efforts of the Tamer King but when I reverted into an egg it took me hundreds of thousands of digital years to hatch again. Nobody knows why, maybe I was just afraid of hurting the world I was born in again."

"So that's why everybody's afraid of the black digivice," Koh leans back on the bench.

"Yes, you are the second human ever to obtain that color." I bite my lower lip, and blood drips onto my chin from how hard I dug into my skin. "Most humans have forgotten, but the trauma in the past lives of Digimon and their survivors will never forget."

"Then we'll just have to prove that we're different," Koh wipes away the blood on my chin. "We can't change the past all we can do is learn from it, but that's what makes history so great! We can copy their successes and do our best not to repeat their failures."

"Koh," I mutter my Tamers name with bittersweet joy.

"You have all these painful memories, so I feel like it's my job to replace them with happy ones! From now on let's do whatever makes you happy, whether it's talking about the past or eating sushi!" Koh pulls out another roll from his bag with a smile.

"I... I don't know what makes me happy..." I stutter in confusion at the statement nobodies ever asked me before.

"Then we'll just have to find out together won't we?" Koh pats me on the head. "But I know evolution makes you sad, and that's a start. We don't have to do anything that upsets you."

"Thank you..." I feel the tears swelling up in my eyes.

"Come on no time for crying we have a party to go to!" Koh picks me up from the bench and walks to his home warp pad.

We arrive to see Komachi putting up a giant banner that says "Congratulations" on it. Scattered around the room are balloons and party hats. "I didn't know what exactly to get, so don't be upset at the results!" Komachi turns slightly red as she climbs down the ladder.

"I had the easy job of getting food everybody would like," Koh chuckles as he puts on the table fried chicken, pizza, sushi, cake, and soda.

"There's no way we can eat all that," Komachi squeezes the arc of her nose.

"Isn't this usually the amount of food people get for parties," Koh frantically looks over the table.

As if on queue Pulsa warps in the room alongside Shellmon. "What's going on?"

Koh gives an awkward smile. "Surprise! It's a party for making bronze!"

Pulsa looks around the room before blushing and scratching his cheek. "Thanks guys, I don't know how to react... This is my first party."

"Oh thank goodness, I didn't want to be the only one!" Koh puts his hand on Pulsa's shoulder and lets out a sigh of relief. "This is my first party as well."

"Maybe we shouldn't have forced ourselves to do something we're unfamiliar with," Komachi shakes her head.

"No!" Pulsa shouts. "I appreciate this! You two are the only ones I wanted to celebrate my victory with because we're best friends!"

"Pulsa!" Koh pulls Komachi and Pulsa together for a group hug.

The usual distant and cool Komachi doesn't resist the embrace and instead lets out a small smirk. "We should get back to studying for school once the tournament is over."

"Oh, before I forget!" Pulsa digs through his bag and pulls out multiple cd cases. "How about we play some video games. I didn't know how to celebrate either, so I just got a bunch of co-op games!"

"Uh, I don't play video games!" Koh let's go of the two.

"Yeah, no thanks," Komachi crosses her arms.

"Ah come on guys!" Pulsa hands the both of them a controller.

"How do you even play?" Koh analyzes the controller.

"I'll show you the controls are easy to learn!" Pulsa pulls Koh by the hand.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to watch," Komachi follows behind at her leisure.

As the trio turn on the T.V Shellmon heads towards Lizard brain, who's sitting crisscross in a corner. " !"

"What is it?" Lizard brain only opens one eye to respond.

"I may not be as strong as you, but," Shellmon clenches his fist. "I feel like I'm slowly catching up!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Lizard brain taps Shellmon on the chest. "Wait until after we've had a few rounds sparring."

"Yes sir!" Shellmon smiles.

As I watch everybody having a good time Coronamon hands me a plate of Pizza. "Here, the food's delicious!" He says with a mouthful of fried chicken.

I take a bite of the gooey cheese, and I don't see what the fuss is about, I prefer sushi overall. "It's okay," I blandly respond.

"What! Then let me get you a plate of chicken instead!" Coronamon skips over to the table.

Noticing a mirror out the corner of my eye, I look at intensely for a while, but nothing happens. "I should probably start thinking of things I would like to try with Koh," I mutter to myself with a smile.

* * *

 _ **I'm really proud on how the fight with Pulsa turned out. I've always liked focusing on other characters in stories like this, it makes the world feel more alive in my eyes. Tell me what you guys think about the fight scene! Did you like it or hate? Hopefully all my chapters will come out this fast.**_


	11. Preliminaries!

_The Union tournament is finally here, and I couldn't be more excited. The history behind it has always fascinated me! From what Mr. Patamon said this tournament is a type of deterrence to the rest of the digital world as it's broadcasted in every region under union protection. Although I read a book located deep within the union's library that the original purpose of the tournament was to win back the good favor of the four sovereigns after humans lost their trust. Anyway Babamon I hope this letter safely reaches you. I miss you so much, but I know you would want me not to worry and continue learning all I can. When we meet again, maybe I'll teach you something you don't already know._

"Are you guys excited for the tournament!" I ask with enthusiasm.

Pulsa groans as he hugs his stomach. "I would be lying if I said I'm not extremely nervous."

"I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat! I'm going to win today easy with a champion level in the normal tournament!" Koh pouts with his arms crossed.

Komachi slaps Koh upside the head. "Don't get cocky! There are probably other tamers with champion level Digimon in the normal tournament!"

Pulsa clenches his stomach even tighter and squats to the ground. "And if there are champion levels in the normal tournament they'll probably be ultimate levels in the bronze tournament!"

Koh rolls his eyes at the statements. "Why should we be afraid of tamers who can't pass the promotion exam, no matter what their level is?"

Komachi puts her hands on her hips visibly annoyed at what Koh said. "You're hopeless!"

"Come on guys enough arguing, the tournament will start soon!" Patamon flies over and announces as he lands on Koh's head.

"Crap you're right!" Koh heads to the warp pad faster than I've ever seen him run before. "I will not be late this time!"

"Wait for us!" Pulsa and Komachi quickly follow behind trying their best to keep up

* * *

 _We're back again for the third time at the coliseum arena, and surprisingly much has changed. There are a variety of food stalls as far as the eye can see! Digimon and humans of all shapes and sizes are happily walking around and chatting as if this was a festival._

"This place is more crowded than usual," Komachi scans the Coliseum with a super scary look.

"That's because members of Night crow are also here," Koh says with a smirk as he puts his hands in his pockets. "More people to witness my greatness!"

"Who's Night Crow?" I ask with genuine curiosity.

"Night Crow is also members of the union, but unlike Light Fang, they operate at night. That is the reason we usually don't see them," Patamon explains. "They specialize in sneak attacks and hit & run tactics."

"Oh wow! A whole other organization built upon the time of day! No wonder their Digimon look more nocturnal based and scary!" I try my best to spot the humans I assume to be Night Crow. Most of them are wearing sunglasses or very dark clothing, unlike Light fang that has more of an upbeat style with bright colors.

"Ugh, we should have the advantage since they're used to fighting at night but," Pulsa looks as if he's about to throw up. "Who knows what strategies they came up with for the tournament."

"Dude you look like crap!" Koh hands me his digivice. "Coronamon go get Pulsa something to drink."

"Yes sir," I head to the food stalls mesmerized by the smell alone, but I had to stay focused. I go towards a stand with Takoyaki a human snack ball made of octopus that I've always wanted to try. "Excuse me can I get a drink please!"

"Sure thing kid we have-" The cook turns around from flipping the Takoyaki and happily responds until he gets a good look at the black digivice I was holding up over my head. "Sorry I just remembered we're all out of drinks. Come back later when we get refilled." The human boy goes back to the grill and finishes up his batch of Takoyaki.

"But..."

"Excuse me..." A white rabbit Digimon bashfully mutters as she twiddles her thumbs. "Are you sure there isn't any left?"

The boy looks at the purple digivice with white outlines and then straight at me before grabbing a cup from beneath the counter. "We have one more left now that I recall."

"Could I also get some Takoyaki?" The rabbit Digimon looks up with her big pink eyes.

"Of course!" The cook smiles as he hands the rabbit her meal.

The rabbit Digimon looks deep into my eyes for what seems like an eternity before she twirls her large purple ears and walks off. "Wait!" I chase after her.

"Yes?" She turns around to look me in the eyes once again, tilting her head curiously as to why I stopped her.

"Do you mind if I have your drink?" I bow my head politely to ask. "My tamer needs it."

The rabbit Digimon stares at her drink and bites her lip. She then looks at her Takoyaki with tears in her eyes. "Um..."

"Ah, you don't have to give it to me!" I frantically wave my hands in an attempt to get her not to cry."Just thought I'd ask!"

"No you can have it," she hands me the drink and Takoyaki. "Sharing is caring."

"Oh, I only needed the drink!" I try giving her the Takoyaki, but she pushes it back to me.

"I saw you were looking at it," She gives me a kind smile.

"Thank you!" I beam brightly back. "My name is Coronamon, and I hope we can meet again!"

"I hope so as well," Lunamon backs into the crowd of Tamers and I immediately lose sight of her.

"Sorry I took so long!" I hand Pulsa the drink and watch him suck it down.

"Takoyaki?" Komachi takes a piece for herself. "No wonder it took a while."

Koh also takes a piece of Takoyaki and plops it in his mouth. "If you wanted a snack you should have just asked. I was getting worried about you."

"Come on no time to slack off! The preliminaries for the tournament is about to start soon!" Patamon tries saying in a serious tone, but Koh jokingly shoves a Takoyaki in his mouth.

"We'll be fine. I'll blow through the preliminaries!" Koh says with a confident smile.

We all walk into the packed Light Fang waiting room and see small arenas scattered throughout. They're over two hundred Tamers here, each striving to participate in the official tournament against Night Crow. "Oh? What's up you guys!" Litton notices us out the corner of her eye and smiles.

Koh's face brightens up as he runs up to the Vice Chief. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd check out the preliminaries to see if you Tamers have been training properly!" Litton happily ruffles Koh's hair.

"Then prepared to be blown away because Pulsa, Komachi and I have been training like crazy!" Koh puffs out his chest with pride.

"Speaking of," Litton walks up to Pulsa and holds out her hand. "Congratulations on making bronze. I heard you won with a rookie level."

Pulsa's mood changes goes from a sickly child to an ecstatic kid before shaking Litton's hand. "Thank you, but I honestly couldn't have done it without the shield Komachi made! It blocked Stingmon's attack!" Pulsa pushes a reluctant Komachi forward.

"Oh really?" Litton scratches her chin.

"I didn't do much. Pulsa is just exaggerating!" Komachi slightly flustered glares at Pulsa.

"To increase the defense of a rookie so much that it can deflect a champion level is impressive." Litton slams both her hands on Komachi's shoulders. "I think someone with your skills should be working for the weapon shop."

"No way!" Komachi shouts, her face now completely red. "I'm not even a Tamer, I couldn't!"

"It's not like I'm giving you the job," Litton laughs as she slaps Komachi on the back. "You have to prove to the shop you're worthy. I'll set you up with an appointment after the tournament is over."

"Thank you," Komachi bashfully holds out her hand.

Litton shakes it with more passion than what Komachi was expecting, and she gets pulled up and down like a rag doll. "No problem!"

"The preliminaries for the normal tournament are about to begin! All Tamers please head to your respective blocks!" A woman's voice announces over the intercom.

"Alright, it's time to show my skill!" Koh rolls his shoulders, eager to get started.

"One more announcement there have been a few last minute changes so check your digivices and double check what block you are in!" The lady explanation causes Koh to fall over because he was already running to his original block.

"Ugh! Where'd they change me too!" a slightly annoyed Koh pulls out his digivice on the ground. "Block A? Alright, there better be no more changes!" He hops back on his feet and heads to his arena.

A man with blonde hair and a bow tie steps to the center of Koh's Arena with a microphone. "Alright the first battle of Block A will be Koh vs Cheetah!"

Koh stretches his legs left and right determined to prove himself in this battle. "Let's go wild Greymon!"

Greymon is realized into the arena letting out a roar that shakes the room when he's let out. "It's about time! I've been waiting all day for some new opponents to test my strength!"

Meanwhile on the other side of the Arena Cheetah is laying on the floor with his headphones on, bobbing his head to the music. The gigantic turtle-like Digimon with blades on its armored shell is fast asleep while it's being used as back support. "Um, are you ready to battle Cheetah?" the referee asks confused at what the young boy is doing.

"Tsk, that Cheetah must be getting cocky because he has a champion level Digimon!" Pulsa angrily bites his lower lip. "Koh, wipe that cool demeanor away!"

Cheetah calmly removes one side of his headphone.

"What's with all the yelling?"

Koh crosses his arms and taps his foot. "We're about to fight in the first round of the preliminaries, so hurry up and stand!"

"Oh, is it finally time for that?" Cheetah looks around the room with a dopey expression. "Tortomon and I surrender."

"What!" Everyone shouts in Unison.

"The winner of the first round of block A is Koh!" The referee shouts as he points at an angry Koh.

"He will proceed to the round 2!"

"What was the point of entering then?!" I can see the vein on Koh's head about to burst when he asks this question.

"I had no choice. All Tamers have to enter the tournament whether we want to or not," Cheetah puts his headphones back on. "Tortomon and I were just looking for a chill place to relax, and I don't want to fight."

"How did someone like you reach champion?" Koh shakes his head in disappointment.

"Cause I'm always down to go on missions with my boy Tonpei, and sometimes he wants to spar," Cheetah chuckles. "Of course I'm going to help in any way I can, and before you know it Kamemon evolved into Tortomon!"

"Can we start the next round please," Koh asks the referee as politely as he could, without directing his anger towards him.

"Yeah I'll go somewhere else to jam out," Cheetah sucks Tortomon back in his digivice. "Try to calm down hothead. Maybe you should listen to some music and relax? I could recommend something for you."

"I'll be your opponent Black digivice!" a girl with blond curly hair that touches her neck says as she skips into the arena. She's wearing an orange ascot with a pink frilly dress that's just long enough to reveal her shiny red tap shoes.

"Alright, looks like Mary Ann has entered the ring and is ready for a battle!" The referee spins his free arm like a helicopter.

"Finally someone willing to throw down!" Koh happily gets into a battle stance. "Pleasure to meet you Mary Ann. I hope this is a good fight!"

"Don't get friendly with me Black digivice!" Mary Ann gives Koh a look of disgust. "This isn't going to be a fight it's going to be a beat down! Monochromon realize!" Out of the girl's pink digivice comes an Ankylosaur-like Digimon who's massive body is covered in iron like armor. On top of its nose is a sizable sharp horn that's half the size of Greymon.

"If both participants are ready then let round 2 begin!" The referee rings the bell initiating the battle.

"Monochromon use Guardy Tusk!" Mary Ann sticks out her tongue to the side as she gives her Digimon the order. Monochromon charges at Greymon with his horn.

"Coming straight at us from the beginning, I like it! Greymon you do the same with Great Antler!" Greymon attacks with his horn as well, and it doesn't take long for the two to clash in the middle.

The two don't struggle for long as Greymon begins to be slowly pushed back. He tries gripping his claws into the arena, but he still can't hold his ground and is knocked down by Monochromon. "Heh, I told you this would be a beat down! Tomahawk slash!" Monochromon slashes downward at the fallen Greymon, but the T-rex narrowly rolls out the way and dashes to the other side of the ring to get some distance.

"Looks like I'm fighting an attacker class," Koh cups his chin and ponders the situation at hand.

"Great observation Einstein, but I'm not going to give you a chance to think! Guardy Tusk!" Mary Ann sarcastically complements Koh as she gives her command.

"Great antler!" Greymon goes head first into battle once again and clashes against Monochromon with similar results, but this time the horn on Greymon's head cracks.

"Looks like you're not looking too good black digivice!" Mary Ann gives a mocking smirk.

Greymon gets back up and gets his distance. "Great Antler!" the dinosaur Digimon looks back at his Tamer before they give each other a slight nod.

"Wow, you are an idiot! This match is as good as mine with another Guardy Tusk!" Monochromon sweeps the ground beneath him getting ready for his final assault.

"Now!" Before the two Digimon clash Greymon twirls behind Monochromon with a grace not expected from the large dinosaur. "Tail Crash!" Greymon Slams it's tail into Monochromon's back making him fly out the arena.

"Winner by Ring out is Koh!" The referee points at the orange haired tamer who gives a smug smile.

"You coward!" Mary Ann crumples up her frilly dress. "You should have fought me head on like a man!"

"Why would I do that when you are stronger than me?" Koh tilts his head. "This is a tournament setting, so you have to use the rules to your advantage.

"To lose to the owner of the black digivice, how disgraceful Mary Ann?" A boy with a round face and an all-white suit walks into the arena as if he owned the place.

"Shut up Fernando, I almost had him!" Mary Ann grits her teeth.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," Fernando pulls out his digivice from his suit's breast pocket with elegance. "Tyrannomon realize." A deep crimson Tyranosaurous Digimon materializes in front of Fernando.

"He has the same build as Greymon, is he an attacker class or balanced class?" Koh examines his foe's Digimon from head to toe.

"If both contestants are ready then let's start round three shall we!" The referee twirls his microphone with enthusiasm of a child before ringing the bell.

Greymon leaps back to the edge of the arena. "Whatever class you are we're in no shape to duke it out with you," Koh says as he stares intensely at Tyrannomon, awaiting his next move.

"Do you think I'll attack up close like some barbarian?" Fernando slicks back his hair. "Fire breath." Tyranomon spews out an intense flame the same color as his body.

Greymon easily rolls out the way of the attack and begins to charge forward. "You shouldn't waste your special moves like that!" Koh smirks.

Fernando nonchalantly fiddles with his digivice. "Use Fire breath three more times." A continuous string of fireballs hits an unsuspecting Greymon dead center on his body leaving black burn marks.

"How!" A shocked Koh asks. "How were you able to use your special so many times!"

"If you must know peasant," Fernando lets out a sigh as he shakes his head. "Tyrannomon is a Technical type, which means he has an abundance of stamina to use his special moves."

"Tsk, that's not even fair!" Koh bites his lip. "Greymon are you okay?"

"I've had mosquito bites that hurt more than this," Greymon wipes his chest, but the burn marks remain. "It just looks worse than it is."

"No power, but even still with enough of those in the exact spot even Greymon will fall," Koh crosses his arms to ponder the situation fully. "We can't get close, and if we fire a special of our own, he'll cancel it out and counter while we're drained."

"If you know the futility of the situation why don't you give up? Time is money after all," Fernando pulls out a stack of cash and starts counting it. "Tyrannomon use Fire breath until he's defeated."

"Got it!" Koh snaps his fingers at his statement. "Greymon use Fire Wall!" Greymon spits out a stream of flames on the ground that shoots up into a towering wall that blocks all of Tyrannomon's attacks.

Fernando stops what he's doing to hold up his hand halting Tyrannomon's actions. "What is this, a shield? You won't be able to attack either, and the attack won't hold for long?" He tries to understand Koh's thoughts finally paying attention to the battle at hand.

"You may be able to use your specials a lot, but I like my moves with a little more power!" Koh smiles at a befuddled Fernando. "Like Mega Flame!"

Fernando looks at the burning wall still confused, but then he notices something just above it "What!" It was Greymon firing off an impressive ball of fire twice the size of anything Tyrannomon made so far. Before the enemy could even react, he's engulfed in the flames that burn him to a crisp.

The referee waits for Tyrannomon to get up, but it's obvious he's not moving. "Winner by knock out is Koh!"

"Having enough strength to jump over the wall..." Fernando falls to his knees so fast his money flies out his pocket flying everywhere. "Truly a barbarian!"

"Who's next!" Greymon pants heavily as a bead of sweat rolls down his face.

"You're doing great partner!" Koh slaps Greymon on the leg. "One more win and it's off to the actual tournament!"

"You're not going anywhere black digivice," An all too familiar boy wearing a yellow cap walks into the arena. Behind him was a golden-haired ape that wielded a bone the size of his body.

"To fight four champions in the preliminaries for the normal tournament is unheard of!" Pulsa clicks his tongue in annoyance.

"You seem familiar," Koh squints his eyes.

"Because he was the bronze Tamer who was watching our exam the first time!" Komachi snarled. "The one who told everyone about the black Digivice!"

"Oh what's up! I almost forgot about you," Koh waves. "How did you get in the regular tournament? Did you get lost?"

"What are you an idiot!" the yellow capped Tamer chuckles. "I'm not lost, I planned to be here. Can't have a black digivice representing Light Fang."

"Huh?" a confused Koh tilts his head.

"I rigged the matches so that you'd fight the other so-called bronze Tamers and me, but they were a disappointment!" the yellow capped tamer glares at the defeated Mary Ann and Fernando. "At least they weakened you enough for me to deliver the final blow. Maybe things would have turned out different If Cheetah would have agreed to fight as well."

"Despicable cheater!" Komachi charges to the arena but is held back by Pulsa.

"He should be disqualified !" Pulsa looks up to the vice chief as he takes an elbow to the face from Komachi.

Litton closes her eyes in thought as everyone waits for her response. "The match will continue, and the winner will proceed to the normal tournament as planned."

"What!" Komachi and Pulsa scream.

"The point of the preliminaries is to select eight Tamers who truly embody what it means to be members of Light fang!" Litton smiles.

"Even the vice chief agrees with me!" The yellow capped Tamer laughs hysterically.

"Can we get this started already, all this talking is getting annoying!" Greymon interrupts.

"I'm ready to take revenge of all the Digimon your predecessor deleted, slave of the black digivice!" Apemon points his bone aggressively at Greymon.

"If both contestants are ready let's start!" the referee leaves the ring so quickly he trips and stumbles out.

"I hope you're not too tired to put up a fight! Ruyi Bone!" Apemon strikes with his extendable weapon so fast a flurry of afterimages appear all headed towards Greymon.

"Well, he's not a speed type. Greymon uses Horn impulse." Koh nonchalantly commands with his hands in his pockets. Greymon attacks with his cracked horn creating an equal amount of afterimages for Apemon.

When the two attacks collide, Apemon's bone shatters on impact leaving the monkey angrier than before. His pale blue face turns beet red. "Demonic monkey fist!" He shouts as his hand is engulfed in black energy giving him the confidence to once again charge at Greymon.

"Fire horn!" As the name implies Greymon's horn burst into flames. He runs at Apemon, with the two ending up on the opposite sides of each other.

"How could I have..." Apemon mutters before falling to the ground.

"The winner is Koh!" The referee climbs back into the arena to scream at the top of his lungs gaining the attention of everyone else in the room.

Koh puts his hands behind his back and gives the yellow capped tamer a bewildered look. "Ah, no wonder you set all this up; you're pretty weak."

"Looks like the Tamer who embodies Light fang was chosen!" Litton walks up and gives a cold stare you would ever expect from such a kind person. "And there's no reason for people like you in Light Fang or even the digital world for that matter! You and you're accomplices are dismissed!"

Komachi snickers at the three Tamers all distraught. "Bye," she winks.

"Good job on making it the tournament!" Pulsa playfully punches Koh on the shoulder.

"You better make it to the bronze tournament!" Koh slaps Pulsa's back harder than he should have, knocking him forward a little.

"I don't have to worry about that until tomorrow, please don't bring it up," Pulsa clenches his stomach and squats to the ground.

"I hope the tamers from Night crow are stronger than this," Koh sighs.

 _The outcome of the preliminaries has been decided. I realize not all humans like my tamer or his spiritual past, but I'll stand by him because I know any lover of history is the right person. Hopefully one day he can prove that to everyone else as well. I'm excited to see how he tackles the actual tournament, and I know he'll give you a good show Babamon so stay tuned!_


	12. Normal Tournament

_I wonder what my parents would say if they saw me now. They were always proud of the little things I did, but I feel they would be ecstatic at what I've accomplished here in the digital world. While my mom always focused on education my dad always wanted me to make friends and help out the community. I've done both in just two weeks, and when this tournament is broadcasted throughout the digital world, I'm sure Light Fang's show of strength will make it a peaceful enough place for them to come to visit. Maybe even relax enough to settle any difference they have._

As I look around the room, I see the seven other chosen Light fang members getting ready for the tournament in their own ways. Some are checking over equipment while others are checking over their Digimon. I just sit back and relax having full faith in my team's abilities. "You know I've never had a chili dog before," I say as I ball up the wrapper used to hold the hot dog and throw it in the trash. "It was pretty good."

"I thought it was too messy," Komachi wipes her face with a napkin like a prim and proper lady.

"I always eat these before a big event, helps me clear my head," Pulsa says as he takes a bite out of his second dog.

"Light Fang, ten-hut!" I along with everyone else in the room immediately stop what we're doing and stand at the position of attention.

"I told you that wasn't necessary Litton," A sort of meager voice says. "Everyone please relax."

I lean forward to see who just walked in, we've never stood at attention before. What I see is a man ripped straight from a post-apocalyptic movie. He's dressed from head to toe in black worn out clothes with olive green hair, and brown eyes. He's also wearing gold shoulder, chest and knee pads but they're heavily scratched up. "Who is that guy?" I mutter to myself.

"Are you serious!" Patamon bonks me on the head after overhearing what I said. "That is Cheif Glare, the leader of Light Fang!"

"Light Fang's only platinum tamer!" Pulsa's eyes begin to sparkle. "Do you think he could give us some advice on how to reach it?"

"Let's ask," I wave unapologetically at our leader. "Excuse me Chief Glare do you have a minute!"

"Ah what are you doing!" Pulsa tries to pull down my hand, but I'm strong enough to keep it up. "We can't just casually call him over here!"

"Too late," Komachi points at Chief Glare who's walking towards.

"How may I help you guys?" Chief Glare smiles. For such a talented person he seems meager.

I nudge Pulsa's shoulder not wanting to ask his question for him. "I... Um... Yeah..." Pulsa stutters all over the place. I didn't expect him to be this nervous.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Komachi asks breaking the tension before I had the chance.

"Oh this, I'm sorry!" Chief Glare sheepishly scratches the back of his head. "I'm so used to these clothes I always wear them when I enter the digital world."

"You've been to the digital world before?" I ask out of curiosity hoping one day I can also return.

"Yes, Chief Glare was one of the original tamers in the digital world when the union was just getting started!" Litton praises the man as if she was talking about a famous historical figure. "The digital world was a much scarier place, back then they didn't have the high security of we have now and were attacked continuously!

"Litton they don't want to hear about all that boring stuff," the chief laughs off her compliments as he pets her head like a child. It was weird seeing the loud, proud and sometimes scary Ms. Litton reduced to this.

"No, I think it's fascinating!" Pulsa finally gains the courage to speak up. "Tell me how you got so strong!"

Chief Glare looks at Pulsa like he just asked how to build a rocket from scratch. "I'm not strong," he says with a serious tone as he points to his tattered red headband. "Alone I'm just a human like everyone else. It's the bonds I've made with my Digimon and fellow Tamers that got me to where I am now."

His speech wasn't necessarily good, but it was genuine and relatable which gave it a lot of impact for me. "Excuse me Cheif Glare, could you take a picture of us please," I say as I hand him my goggles. I never want to forget the friends I've made here both digital and real.

"That's an odd request, but I don't see why not," before Chief Glare takes my goggles he pulls three red bandanas similar to his own out his pocket. "Here so you guys can match!"

I know there must be some symbolic meaning to these bandanas, but I don't overthink it. "Thank you, sir!" Pulsa, Komachi and I all tie the bandanas so tightly around our arms they cut off circulation for a second. I realize Greymon so he can also get in the picture.

"Everybody ready!" Chief Glare waves as he tries to figure out how my goggles work.

"Can we hurry this up," battle-ready Greymon puffs.

"Keep quiet and smile dino breath," Patamon retorts as he adjusts himself on my head.

"I've never taken a picture before!" Coronamon gleefully grabs my pants.

I've taken pictures before but never with friends. I don't know how to smile! Should it be big or small? Teeth or no Teeth? Pulsa and Komachi already seem poised and ready with Pulsa having his hand on my shoulder giving a thumbs up and Komachi holding up a peace sign. "Say Cheese!" Chief Glare shouts.

Wait I'm not ready. The camera flashes before I could decide what to do. "How'd it turn out!" Pulsa runs over to check out the photo with Komachi not far behind.

I hesitantly follow. I peak my head over Pulsa's shoulder to see, and embarrassment quickly floods my face. "What was I doing?!" I facepalm. In the picture I was giving the most awkward smile I had ever seen in my life with my fist clutched close to my chest.

"I think it's a good picture. Make sure to send it to my laptop," Komachi reassures me.

"Yeah, I want to see if I can print it out and frame it!" Pulsa's huge grin touches his ears as he continues to look at the photo.

My lips begin to curl up. "I guess it's not that bad."

"All participants of the normal tournament, please report to the arena!" a female announces over the intercom.

"It's your time to shine buddy!" Pulsa gives me a powerful fist bump that sends chills down my body.

"Good luck," Komachi pats me on the shoulder while keeping a straight face but I know she's excitingly rooting for me on the inside.

"Keep calm and be cautious of not only the enemy Digimon but the Tamer as well," Chief Glare wags his finger.

Ms. Litton bends over and whispers in my ear. "If you're able to win this thing I'll give you a special reward from me!"

"You can count on me!" I put all of the pride I've gained from being a member of light fang in these two short weeks into my salute. Glare and Litton remind me a lot of my parents for some reason which gives me all the reason in the world not to let them down.

* * *

 _When the other participants and I warped everything went so dark, I couldn't even see my hands in front of me. "Ladies, Gentleman and Digimon! Allow me to introduce Light Fangs Strongest Normal rank Tamers!" the lights turn on so suddenly I'm blinded for a split second but when my eyes adjust I see the roaring stadium jam-packed with Digimon and humans as far as the eye could see. Above me is a giant four-sided screen that shows the faces of all the contestants._

Across from us were the members of Night Crow who had already been introduced. What caught my attention was the girl writing in a strangely familiar notebook. "Sayo?" I mutter.

Sayo looks up as if she heard me over the cheers. There's no doubt in my mind that's the sickly girl from my class. "Now that everyone is here let's get this show on the road!" The referee punches the air above him with enthusiasm breaking my train of thought.

Another man with azure blue hair and purple shades pushes the referee out the way. "The matches will be chosen at random! Let's see who will be fighting in the first round!" the large screen rapidly spins the pictures of all the contestants. As it comes to a slow stop, my image is shown on two sides while Sayo's is shown on the remaining.

The blonde haired referee that I'm used to, kicks the blue haired one to the floor. "Koh of Light Fang vs. Sayo Of Night Crow please step up!"

We do as we're told while the other contestants leave the arena. "Those are some pretty cool eyepieces you have on! Did you get the female adventurer version!" I saw with excitement pointing out the purple goggles on her head. Does Sayo like history as well?

"Yes..." She hides her mouth behind her notebook. "I wanted to be more like you."

More like me? "Ah! That notebook you're holding is the one I gave you for homework! What are you doing with it?!"

"Oh, I ran out of paper to write down my adventures, so I've been using this for a while now," Sayo shows me the word-filled pages with crudely drawn Digimon in every other corner. I even notice my drool stain still in there.

"That notebook is for school work!" I aggressively tap my foot.

"I'm sorry!" this time Sayo hides her entire face.

The blue haired referee puts the other in a headlock. "If both contestants are ready... begin!" the bell rings on command.

"Leomon realize!" a muscular lion-man with orange fur, blue eyes, and a yellow mane appears in the arena. It's wearing a golden earring on its left ear, black pants and a sword on the back of its belt.

"Greymon realize!" I call out my most powerful Digimon to the field. The two champion levels lock eyes neither of them moving an inch.

"Crushing Kick!" Sayo commands as Leomon lunges foot first at Greymon.

"Gray tooth!" Greymon opens his jaw chomping down on Leomon's leg, spinning him around and throwing him back in the direction he came.

"Beast King Destruction!" Leomon turns around midair to shoot a blast of energy from his fist.

"Mega Flame!" Greymon counters with his signature fire causing the two attacks to collide in the middle and create an explosion that shakes the arena.

Leomon backflips gracefully until he lands on the ground as if he wasn't just thrown. "It would seem we are evenly matched!"

"Looks like cats do always land on their feet," I couldn't help but snicker at the pun.

"Let's see if they also have nine lives!" Greymoon bares his teeth showing off a patch of Leomon's fur caught between them.

"You're strong," Sayo slams her notebook closed. "But I've already written that I've won the normal tournament so I can't lose!" Her body becomes coated in a layer of red aura that rises into the air.

"I apologize for ruining our duel," Leomon draws his blade coated in a red aura similar to Sayo's. I blink, and when I open my eyes, he had already turned around and sheathed his sword.

"You think that light show will sca-" Greymon's digital blood begins spraying everywhere like a hose. He doesn't even have time to finish his taunt before falling face first on the floor.

"What happened?!" I wonder as Greymon's blood begins to form a puddle around himself.

"I've won," Sayo says casually as if it was destined to happen. "Mr. referee isn't there suppose to be a count?"

"Oh yeah!" the blue-haired referee climbs into the arena kicking the other in the face to do so. "Ten...Nine... Eight..."

"Greymon get up! We can't lose here!" I scream with a desperation not sure if my partner could hear me.

Greymon to the shock of everyone including my self starts to get back on his feet slowly. "Cheap... shot!" he says with blood gushing out his mouth.

If Greymon hasn't given up then neither have I. "I've noticed you write in pen," I say with my hand placed firmly on my hips.

"Yes, and?" Sayo looks confused at my seemingly random statement.

"Well, you better start writing in pencil because I'm not losing today! Silver blade realize!" I whipped out my digivice that launches a sword at Greymon who catches it with ease.

"Even in the face of absolute defeat, the rival character doesn't give up!" Sayo mutters to her self writing down every word spoken.

Leomon unsheathes his blade once again with a grin. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy that you got back up."

"You're not beating me that easily!" Greymon screams and charges with his sword.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning strikes down at the center of the arena. "Another trick?" I ask Sayo who I could barely see because of the smoke from the bolt.

"That wasn't me," Sayo says with concern.

"Good evening Tamers of a soon to be dead union!" With a strong gust of wind, the smoke clears. Standing ominously is something wearing a red cloak.

"Hey who the hell do you think you are!" A man in the audience with round glasses and spiky red hair stands up. "The only thing about to be dead is you!" he flips up his black leather jacket and aggressively pulls out his Digivice. Everyone else on his side of the arena does the same calling out all their Digimon.

"A Vice Chief shouldn't let their emotions control their actions Raigo," Litton snaps her fingers and all the Tamers on her side pull out their digivices.

"What! You just did the same thing as me!" Raigo furiously waves around his finger pointed at Litton.

"Of course from your viewpoint, we did the same thing," Litton rolls her eyes to the back of her head.

"After I wipe the floor with that red creep you're next!" Raigo aims his digivice at Litton.

"Why wait? Let's settle this now!" Litton mirrors Raigo's movements.

"This isn't the time for your childish bickering!" A young woman with long indigo hair tied up in a ponytail catwalks into the arena as if she owns the entire digital world. Her long white trench coat and go-go boots are definitely making a fashion statement.

"Chief Julia!" Sayo smiles, which I didn't know she could do.

"Excuse me but pulling a stunt like this is hardly smart," Chief Glare puts his hand on my shoulder. "You're sorely outmatched. How about you surrender and we can figure out a suitable punishment."

The mysterious intruder pulls out a purple orb from its red cloak. "You can't defy me. Don't try and resist!" The sphere slowly floats and expands covering the whole room in a purple light.

"HerculesKabuterimon!" a girl cries as her Digimon discharges purple electricity! It groans in pain as its form changes until nothing is left but a digiegg.

"Andromon!" a boy screams as not only his but many other Digimon do the same, their excess data going to the orb that slowly gets bigger.

With fear in my heart, I stare intensely at Greymon, but after a while, nothing happened to him or Leomon. "Is it only targeting Ultimates and Megas?"

"Why would I waste this on weaker Digimon?" The red cloak responds to me.

"Ophanimon are you okay?" Chief Glare looks in his Digivice.

"I'm fine," a feminine voice calls out.

"Looks like it doesn't effect Digimon within their digivices," Chief Julia confirms this with a nod from Raigo and Litton.

The purple orb now the size of a one-story house lands behind the red cloak with a menacing skull in its center. "Next I'll attack the bridge connecting the union to the rest of the digital world. Then I'll only need a little more Digi-Entelechia to complete the first stage of my project." The red cloak's piercing yellow eyes glances at Chief Julia then Chief Glare. "Should I attack Sunshine or Darkmoon after the bridge. Decisions Decisions.

"Wait!" Chief Glare runs towards the red Cloak, but he warps away alongside his virus.

"Raigo let's go!" Chief Julia struts to the closest warp pad alongside her eager Vice Cheif.

"Everyone stay here! That's a direct order!" Chief Glare finally gets some bass in his voice to issue this before leaving.

"You heard him!" Litton adds following close behind our leader. "If I find any of you left there will be dire consequences!"

Now the remaining members of the union stand idly by as they're told. Faint cries could be heard as some Tamers hold on tightly to their digieggs. "What do you mean the cameras are still rolling! Cut the feed now!" The blonde haired referee makes a chopping motion in front of his throat.

"Seems like the entire digital world saw the show," Komachi comes next to me with her arms crossed.

"Do you think that was his intention?" Pulsa clenches his fist.

"Doesn't matter, because if any Digimon thinks they can try anything I'll stop them in a heartbeat!" I crack my knuckles.

"Let's see about that!" A woman Digimon with a jet black outfit and tattered wings comes crashing through the ceiling. Causing debris to fall everywhere.

"Who are you?!" I glare at the possible enemy.

"Me? Well, I'm LadyDevimon, and this is my army of Vilemon!" Ladydevimon waves her crimson red claws signaling a sky full of small monstrous looking Digimon with mouths half the size of their bodies. "We've been assigned to wipe out the remainder of the union!"

The Vilemon start attacking not only Digimon but humans as well! Clawing at the undefended Tamers taking a bite out of their shoulders, arms or legs! The site was almost too gruesome for me to watch. "Kenpa!" I hear Tonpei shout.

"Guys help me!" Kenpa reaches out her hand to Tonpei and Cheetah as she's being carried away by one of the Vilemon.

"Get out of my way!" Tonpei screams as Strikdramon defeats two Vilemon at once, but four pop up in their place.

"These guys are more annoying than repeat songs on the radio!" Cheetah jokes but I could tell he was shaking. Tortomon defeated one Vilemon but the remaining three knaw on his shell.

"Greymon you think you can make the shot?" I ask with confidence he can, but verify anyway.

"I got blood in my mouth not my eyes!" Greymon launches the silver sword with all his might piercing the Vilemon carrying Kenpa through the head instantly turning him to data.

"This isn't funny!" Kenpa frantically struggles through the air as she falls.

A group of Vilemon comes swarming to Greymon after we made ourselves known. Since he was too preoccupied and I wasn't nearly athletic enough to catch her there is only one choice before she becomes a human pancake. "Patamon realize! Hurry up and Catch her quick!"

Patamon darts to the falling Kenpa able to catch her, but isn't strong enough to entirely stop her descent. Though all I needed was a little time. "There we go," I say as she floats into my arms.

"Kenpa!" Tonpei and Cheetah come running having disposed of all the Vilemon that got in their way.

"She's okay it looks like she just passed out from the fall," I try handing over Kenpa to Tonpei but a vain pops on his head.

"How dare they try to hurt my friend!" Tonpei's vain begins pulsating as the upper half of his face turns red with rage. "I won't forgive them!"

"I think I heard the creep say he was going to the city," Cheetah motions his head to the warp pad.

"What are you guys trying to do?" Pulsa jumps in front of the warp pad. "We were ordered to stay here!"

"And in case you haven't noticed, we have a little bit of a crisis here!" Komachi gestures to the Vilemon flying around.

"Everyone else can handle themselves. This red cloak made it personal!" Tonpei pushes Pulsa out the way and warps.

"He's going to see what happens when he messes with someone from our squad!" Cheetah puts his headphones on before warping.

Those two said we could handle it, but LadyDevimon is quickly slaughtering any Digimon putting up a decent fight. "Great more Vilemon are coming our way!" Pulsa says with fear in his voice, but he still gets into a fighting stance alongside his Shellmon.

"Hundred Beast Fist!" out the corner of my eye I see Sayo's Leomon release a barrage of energy Lion heads that defeat at least twenty Vilemon.

"Are you guys okay," Sayo still coated in that strange red aura pants. I don't know what it is, but it's giving her a significant power boost but also taking a toll on her stamina. If anyone has a chance to defeat LadyDevimon, it's her.

"Hey, I'll handle the fodder you defeat the boss!" I pat Sayo on the shoulder.

She doesn't even doubt me for a second and nods her head, immediately firing a Lion head at Ladydevimon. "I was going to tell you when I won the tournament, but when this is over, please read my notebook."

"Got it!" I give her a thumbs up. "Pulsa, you and Shellmon help gather the remaining tamers we don't stand a chance apart, but together Light Fang is unbeatable!"

* * *

 _With Sayo battling the Ultimate level nuisance taking out the Vilemon was easy pickings. They aren't strong in any way there's just a lot of them. We were able to quickly gather all Tamers in one location and hold our ground dwindling the enemies numbers slowly but surely. Meanwhile Tamers such as Pulsa gathered the injured to a safe place during our commotion. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Light Fang uses a united attack to disintegrate the last few Vilemon_.

"I can't believe I lost one on one to a champion level Digimon," Ladydevimon falls over and turns into data on impact.

Leomon on the other side of LadyDevimon breaths heavily with his blade still out. "I didn't win, it was a draw," He says before turning to data himself and reforming as a digiegg. Worried how Sayo must feel I notice she has already passed out herself.

"Looks like the worst is over," Pulsa wipes a handful of sweat from his forehead to the ground.

"Not yet, Tonpei and Cheetah haven't come back yet," I scan in the area with concern for their safety.

"But we were ordered to stay!" Pulsa pleads not wanting me to get in trouble.

"They only left to avenge Kenpa," I stare blankly into my hand. "And honestly if anything would have happened to you guys in the attack I would have done the same, so I can't abandon them."

"Chief Glare and Litton haven't returned either," Komachi glares at me. Most would have said out of anger, but I know she just doesn't want me to get hurt. "What makes you think you can do anything?!"

"I may not be able to stop this thing, but I can at least save those two," I hold Komachi's hand with the one I was staring at.

"Well you're not going alone," Pulsa puts his hand on top of ours.

"Thanks, I could use the support," I pull my hand back and head towards the warp pad.

Komachi grabs the back of our collars slightly choking us. "Don't do anything reckless," she whimpers.

"We'll be fine because we have our weapons that you made!" Pulsa shakes his digivice.

"Coronamon realize!" I call out my final Digimon partner. "You and Patamon protect Kenpa and Komachi in case anything happens.

"Yes sir!" they say in unison.

"You still breathing!" I rub Greymon on the back of the leg.

Greymon lets out a small chuckle. "Barely, now let's hurry and save Strikdramon!"

Pulsa and I give each other a fistbump before warping to sunshine with our Digimon mimicking us. We arrive and see Sunshine in no better shape than the coliseum with unconscious tamers and digieggs everywhere.

"Strikdramon was here," Greymon takes a big sharp inhale through his nose.

"Can you track him?" I ask treating him like a bloodhound.

Greymon takes another whiff. "This way!"

We follow Greymon to the command center and see Chief Glare directly under the mysterious virus screaming in agony. Next to him laid Litton battered and bruised clutching on to her digiegg.

Tonpei and Cheetah stand heroically in front of the threat without fear. "Hey, we took down all your Vilemon on the way here, now you're next!" Tonpei points at the purple orb causing Strikdramon to lunge on command.

"Strike fang!" Strikdramon tries attacking but is hit by the mysterious energy's lightning reverting to his Monodramon form.

"He only went down one level," I bit my thumb as I analyze the situation. "Is it because it's not focused on us?"

The virus's skeleton face turns to look at us and then turns back around as if we weren't a threat. "Call bat!" a horde of realistic bats come from the purple orb.

"Shell Phalanx!" Tortomon's shell glows as spikes are launched at the bats erasing them all.

The data of the bats form a cloud, and a blot of lightning hits Tortomon from above reverting him to Kamemon. "Ah, crap!" Cheetah shouts.

Tonpei uses this time to grab Monodramon. "Are you okay buddy!"

"Greymon we need to rescue everyone we can't beat this thing," I whisper to my partner.

"Got it!" Greymon quickly scoops up Tonpei, Cheetah, and Litton but when he tries to grab Chief Glare the mysterious virus turns to stop him.

"Call cat!" a group of black cats pounces at everyone Greymon is carrying so he uses his body to protect them, taking all the damage.

"Hydro Pressure!" Shellmon fires pressurized water at the attacking cats dispersing them in one shot.

"We only got a split second! Greymon throw everyone to Shellmon!" My partner Digimon does as he's told and tosses the Tamers to Shellmon with the data of the disperse cats following close behind.

Shellmon catches them just in time as he's reverted to Syakomon by the same attack that got Kamemon. "Safe!" Pulsa cheers with joy.

"Pulsa get everyone out of here!" I command not taking my eyes off the virus.

"What about you?" Pulsa grabs my wrist. "I'm not going to leave you behind!"

"Somebody has to get Chief Glare," I snatch my hand away. "He's the leader of Light Fang if anybody needs to make it out of this; it's him."

"But-"

Cheetah puts Pulsa in a full Nelson and starts dragging him to the warp pad. "Come on we're leaving Mr. Forgettable!"

Tonpei stares at me as he carries Litton over his shoulder. "You better come back with the Chief." He warps away with everyone.

"Now, try and grab Cheif Glare!" Greymon listens and pushes through the mysterious viruses electric field reverting into an Agumon but landing next to Chief Glare. He uses his tiny body to throw the man twice his size across the room next to me.

"ARRGH!" the mysterious virus goes berserk, sparks of electricity going everywhere.

"Agumon return!" I suck Agumon back in the digivice and wrap Chief Glare around my shoulder.

"Chrono DSR!" the mysterious Virus expands just like in the Colosseum.

"Almost there! I need to at least get Cheif glare out of here!" I'm too weak to carry Glare and myself fast enough out the range of the explosion but maybe.

"What are you doing!" Agumon shouts as I put my digivice in Chief Glare's pocket.

 _We're close enough to the warp pad that maybe if I throw him with all my might, a part of Chief Glare can come in contact with it and get out of here. This attack is targeted at humans instead of Digimon this time so who knows what will happen. The purple light blinds my sight before I can initiate my plan. The pain I'm going through is unbearable its as if someone is drilling a hole through my skull from every direction and trying to rip out my brain through each one with their bare hands. Before long it's too much for me to handle and everything goes black._

For some reason, I was still conscious even though it was pitch black. The pain had stopped so maybe this was death. Suddenly a White Tiger with purple stripes appears clearly in front of me. "You have battled with Zhuqiaomon's Tamer and was able to continue standing."

Another Tiger similar to the one in front of me appears on my right. "Your digivice's color connects you to a problem from Ebonwumon's past and surprisingly enough this current incident."

The same tiger now appears to my left. "Azulongmon didn't want me to choose you, but I think you're a perfect choice."

The three Tigers merge into one. "I am Baihumon the guardian of the western digital world, and I have chosen you to inherit my digisoul." A golden orb floats into my hands. "Use this power as you please and try not to disappoint me."

"Koh! Koh!" I awaken confused next to Chief Glare shaking me. "Oh thank goodness!"

"What happened?" I lean forward head still pounding like a drum.

"That virus blew itself up," Chief Glare helps me stand." Must have been a fail-safe, so no evidence is left."

"But why? It was attacking you and was unbeatable!" I clench my head. The pain won't stop and overthinking is only making things worse, but I need answers.

"It was probably just trying to kill me and thought that would do the trick, but we warped out in time," Chief Glare smiles.

"Did we I don't reme-"

"Come on the others are probably waiting we shouldn't keep them," Chief glare walks off.

"You're right I need to see if Komachi and Pulsa are okay," Hopefully we can figure this out together when things settle down.

* * *

 _ **Hey everyone I hope the wait was at least semi worth it. As of now we are officially in the actual game portion of my fanfic, I hope everyone liked the build up. I've made some slight changes to the game's story tell me what you guys think does it work or no? Finally I just want to say thank you for reading this far it means a lot!**_


	13. Fly back to login mountain

_It has been a few days since the attack on Light Fang. This is our last day under house arrest. Kind of them since we were the ones to save the chief, but it could have been worse. I'm just ready to get back into action. I need to reach ultimate level if I stand a chance of saving Guilmon._

"Here you go Agumon," Komachi puts red straps on my hands. "They're weighted bracers that should increase your strength the longer you have them on."

I do my usual quick jabs at the sandbag though much slower than I would have liked. "They're okay."

"Thanks, Komachi!" Koh smiles as he sits criss-cross. "With these and a little bit of training we should be able to get back in the fight and blow right through champion!"

"Well, you better hurry up and do that then," I spit in the direction of my sandbag.

"Be considerate for once Lizard Brain! Koh can only do so much," Patamon turns his nose to me as he sits on my partners head.

"You're not the one who was reverted!" I clench my fist. "It's like losing a part of yourself! You get this feeling of being incomplete that never goes away no matter how much you want it too!"

"Calm down," Koh playfully pats me on the head. "We're going on a mission today!"

"Fine," I swat away Koh's arm but not at full strength as to not harm him.

"What about looking up more information on this digisoul you dreamed about?" Pulsa says from behind a stack of books. While Koh has been on house arrest, he's been researching about the four sovereign and that mysterious power.

"Nah we still haven't found out any leads," Koh scratches his head with a muddled look. "Maybe I just went into shock and hallucinated after the explosion."

"When I was still an in-training level Babamon once told me the Tamer King was granted power by Ebonwumon similar to that of Sayo's!" Coronamon wags his tail as he recalls the distant memory. "I thought it was just a story, but maybe it could be this digisoul, and you also have the power of the Tamer King!"

"If Sayo also has this power, how special could it be?" Koh leans back in his chair and pouts like the child he is.

"But there's no other information about it," Pulsa pats the stack of books knocking them over on accident and falling himself. "Maybe you're the only three, each chosen by a different sovereign!"

"Well I guess that makes it a little better," Koh adjusts his goggles and gives an eager smirk I've grown to expect. "We better test this power out the best way I know how, through actual combat!"

"This power better not be a dud!" I tighten my bracers with a smile similar to Koh's. "Let's get going, partner!"

* * *

 _Our first time walking into the city was better than I expected. The buildings were intact, and a bunch of in-training Digimon are bouncing around with their partners. Because of what happened, the hierarchy of Light Fang has changed. Bronze Tamers with champion level Digimon who survived the attack are at the top of the food chain providing security and constantly going on missions, while the silver and gold tamers are putting all their efforts into training to regain their former glory._

"Are you going to the weapon shop to turn in your design?" Pulsa asks as he peaks over Komachi's shoulder while she's typing away at her laptop.

"Yes, the design is done, but I want better material in making it," Komachi lets out a huff and closes her laptop. "I heard there is some rare chrome digizoid in a newly discovered area called Limit valley."

"Hey then let's look for a mission in that area!" Koh clutches his fist. "Since it's newly discovered there must be plenty of them!"

When we arrive at the mission center, we don't even have time to look around before we're met with some familiar faces, the yellow capped Tamer and his friends. "Oh, black digivice! Why did you bring your face around here?!" Everybody in the room quickly turns their attention to us each one glaring more fiercely than the last.

"What are you crooks doing here!" Komachi steps up not fazed by the stares.

"Crooks, don't be so crude!" Fernando puts away a wad of cash he was counting. "We're the only ones maintaining order in the digital world!"

"Let me guess, you guys still have your champion levels because you were detained during the commotion," Pulsa steps up next to Komachi with his chest puffed out and his arms crossed.

"Yeah we were locked up during the commotion, but where did you go?" the yellow capped Tamer walks up to Koh and look around the room as if he was asking the question to everyone present. "I heard you ran off, maybe to tell your boss red hood that he failed to destroy the union!"

The room is filled with whispers as Mary Ann skips over. "The red hood entered during your battle at the tournament!"

Fernando opens his arms with flare. "And isn't it convenient that champion levels and below weren't affected by the virus!"

"Bring me back HerculesKabuterimon and Nick!" A girl shouts from the crowd with tears running down her face. "Everything we went through is gone because of you!"

"I should have done this a long time ago black digivice," a young man with silk blonde her and a blue suit grabs Koh by the collar and slams him against the wall. "I won't be able to see my little sister again because of you!"

"Get him Chow! Teach him a lesson!" The crowd circles around Koh and Chow as he begins punching him continuously.

"What are you guys talking about?!" Komachi and Pulsa are held back and forced to watch as they struggle to get free and help their friend.

"Don't act dumb!" Mary Ann flicks Komachi on the forehead causing the girl too almost bite her finger off in retaliation. "When the red hood attacked the bridge, he also destroyed the gate to the real world, so we're trapped here until it's fixed but since they didn't make it who knows how long that'll take."

"Not to mention some tamers were kidnapped by the Vilemon and have gone missing during missions!" Fernando points to an entire wall of lost children.

The beating continues during their explanation getting intense. "Why you-" I try to intervene, but Koh slightly raises his hand at me. He must not want this to get more out of hand than it already is but...

"Don't you guys look pathetic ganging up on a single person!" Tonpei pushes through the crowd and into the circle to step in front of Chow. "If you want to fight someone, how about me!"

"Fine!" Chow goes in for a straight jab, but Tonpei dodges and counters with an uppercut that knocks the boy out clean.

"Anybody else!" Tonpei glances the Tamers once over. "Hopefully someone without a glass jaw!"

The crowd disperses. Pulsa and Komachi are let go, and they immediately run over to Koh to tend his wounds. "Being friends with the black digivice isn't smart; you just made yourself a target!" The yellow capped Tamer says ominously before walking off.

"Thanks, Tonpei!" Koh gives the best smile he can with his half swollen face.

Tonpei holds out his hand to help Koh up. "I see you finally got my name right."

"We've been practicing," Komachi gently puts an ice pack on Koh's swollen cheek.

"Are you just getting off of house arrest as well," Pulsa looks behind Tonpei. "And where's your crew?"

"They're doing their own thing, and I wanted to see you myself," Tonpei says.

"About what?" Koh asks as he removes the ice pack and puts on a bandage.

"Have you heard of the BlackWarGrowlmon gang?" Monodramon whispers from behind, catching me off guard.

"The what!" My stomach churns with fear as my head burns with anger. It couldn't be.

"Your reaction says it all, that's our Guilmon," Monodramon stares into my soul.

I couldn't lie to him now if I tried. "Yes... How did you figure it out?"

"They ordered a hit on all Monodramon in the digital world. That was my first clue," Monodramon turns away from me with his arms crossed. "When we did research, we found out that is a possible evolution to Guilmon, which was clue two.

"When did this gang show up?" Koh asks.

"After the tournament," Tonpei responds. "They've been using the opportunity to attack the weakened Union members on missions, so because of this we aren't allowed to go out alone anymore."

"Well enough, talk!" I scream. "Is there a mission involving the BlackWarGrowlmon gang or not!"

"Yes, a member was spotted at login mountain," Tonpei holds up his digivice.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Koh rolls his shoulders. "Let's rock and roll!"

"What about the materials at Limit Valley?" Komachi pleads in confusion.

"Pulsa will be there to protect you," Koh holds up his fist waiting for the usual pound between the two young boys.

"Koh, I don't think I can do this alone," Pulsa puts down Koh's fist. "Why can't you come with us?"

"Because this is important to Agumon," Koh pulls away from Pulsa and walks over to put his shoulder on my head. "I promised him I would help get his family back together."

"Then we should all go together on this mission!" Komachi takes a few breaths calming down.

Koh smiles at the girl. "You need to get the materials as soon as possible so you can blow the shop's pants off. Trust me guys this is for the best."

It takes Pulsa a few minutes, but he finally holds up his fist. "Stay safe; call me if anything happens."

Koh pounds back. "Same to you."

 _Happiness swells up in my stomach, one that I haven't felt in a long time. Koh chose to help me over his human friends even though we won't be together for long. He does care about my family and our well being, but I can't let his kindness be for granted. I have to try my best to fix my family._

* * *

We arrive at login mountain and find a village destroyed. "We have to look for survivors!" Koh gets on his knees and starts frantically digging through the debris with his bare hands.

I take a big whiff of the air, but there's not even a trace of any Digimon here. "You smell anything?" I ask Monodramon, who shakes his head.

Tonpei puts his hand on Koh's shoulder, relaying what we just said. "Come on; our target is up ahead."

"This is the village where I got my first mission," Koh picks up a piece of debris and stares at it blankly. "I couldn't help it back then, but I thought someone would eventually come along."

"Thank you for saving Kenpa," Tonpei bows his head low enough for Koh to see him. "She wouldn't be here without you, so I'm forever grateful!"

"Don't forget this is also the place you saved Komachi," I usually don't do pep talks, but I feel like he needs to know the good he's done instead of dwelling on regrets.

"Ah! If Agumon is trying to cheer me up, I must be looking pathetic!" Koh hops back up and wipes his hands on his shorts. "Where's the objective! Instead of beating myself up I'll beat up whoever did this!"

"Well let's get going then," Tonpei sets off uphill. "Our target is this way."

Everyone else follows behind, and Monodramon walks directly next to me. I feel like he wants us to talk, but I don't know what to say. I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing because I want to reconnect my family, and this is a crucial first step. "I see you've found a partner you can rely on," Monodramon is the first to break the awkward silence.

"Yes, he's very reliable," I answer shortly and honestly.

"What happened to Guilmon?" Monodramon asks. "How did he evolve so quickly?"

"He evolved by an evolution machine, but it corrupted his mind," I dig my claws into my sides. "The only reason he went through this is because I failed him, just like I failed you."

"You didn't fail me," Monodramon looks at me with shock much to my surprise. "The promise I made to you to become strong is what drives me when I feel like giving up!"

I couldn't help but laugh. He was motivated by a coward like me to become stronger while he was driving me at the same time. Maybe if we had talked instead of me trying to fight, things would have ended differently. "Monodramon I know this is selfish of me but could you help in bringing Guilmon back to his senses?"

"Of course, he's family!" Monodramon smiles for the first time in what seems like forever.

"Thank you," I finally realize family is a bond, and communication is the key to strengthen it.

"Well since our Digimon are getting along maybe we should as well," Koh nervously scratches his neck. "Komachi told me I could be a jerk from time to time, so I want to apologize if I was ever rude to you."

"Yeah, you were kinda an ass every time we talked," Tonpei nonchalantly responds.

Koh jumps in front of Tonpei and mimics him from earlier bowing just as low. "I'm sorry! Please explain to me what I did wrong so I'll never do it again!"

"That'll take all day," Tonpei playfully pushes Koh out the way.

"We'll have time after the mission!" Koh bashfully says. "Maybe you can come over and hang out with Tonpei, Komachi, and I."

"You won't be leaving here alive," a Digimon that resembles a green ogre with long unkempt white hair steps in our path dragging a large spiked femur bone.

Koh and Tonpei both leap back while Monodramon and I move forward. "Is that our target?" Koh asks.

"Yep, that's Ogremon!" Tonpei scans the Digimon with his digivice which detects the BlackWarGrowlmon tattoo on its left arm below its shoulder spikes.

"I remember you," Ogremon points at Agumon with its fang-like tusks on its upper jaw like a traditional Oni. "Ready for round two!"

"Don't tell me," Koh grits his teeth and clutches his digivice. "You're the Goblimon from before!"

Ogremon starts hysterically laughing and out of nowhere swings his bone-club at us, smashing the ground. "That's right! I'm bigger and worse than ever!"

"Agumon calm him down with a Baby Flame!" Koh commands as he attempts to get up from being sprawled out on the floor.

I spit out a ball of fire at Ogremon, but he hits it with his club like a baseball redirecting it right back at me. "Now that I'm a champion level, you have no chance of beating me!" Ogremon grabs Tonpei before he's able to stand.

"How'd a weakling like you digivolve," Koh snarls but doesn't dare move with fear of what could happen to Tonpei.

"I love to tell my story!" Ogremon swings Tonpei around with a smile on his face and not a care in the world. "When the tournament was broadcasted, it was obvious the union was done for, so I took the opportunity to slaughter the remaining villagers and absorb their data!"

"Why would you do that, you psychopath!" I bite my lip knowing Koh wouldn't want me attacking now.

"To get revenge on you!" Ogremon holds a blue-faced Tonpei over his head. "I'll start by killing this boy, and after him, I'll look for that girl with the glasses and pop her head like a balloon! You'll regret embarrassing me!"

"You talk too much!" Tonpei snarks to the best of his ability as all the air is being squeezed from his body. "Monodramon hit him with a lethal blow..."

Monodramon sneaks up on the distracted Orgemon from behind. "Beat Knuckle!" he punches Orgemon's back, a loud cracking noise is heard on impact.

"Sharp Claw!" lunging at Orgemon as he withers in pain, I cut the arm holding Tonpei clean off.

"You don't get any time to rest!" Tonpei says with his first breath.

"Shadow wing!" Monodramon flies into the air to dive into Orgemon's center and knock him down.

I step on the fallen Orgemon's head with all my weight. "Now you're going to tell me where BlackWarGrowlmon is or else!"

"No, I can't be deleted here! Not after everything I went through to get this far!" Ogremon tries to get up, but I push his head back into the dirt.

Monodramon puts his foot down alongside mine. "Then tell us what we want to know!"

"He... He's on a journey right now to find something!" Ogremon cries in desperation. "I don't know for what though I swear!"

Koh walks over and supports Tonpei who's slowly regaining his breath. "He seems to be telling the truth. What do you want to do?"

"Coronamon and Patamon realize," Koh calls out the other two members of his team. "Agumon when you delete him I want everyone to absorb his data."

"What?!" Coronamon looks up to Koh with surprise.

"Got it," I raise my claw and aim for his head.

"Please, I'll change !" Tears roll down Orgemon's face, but I don't hesitate.

Coronamon grabs my arm right before I could attack. "Wait! He said he would change we can't do this!"

"Air shot!" Patamon's puff of air is strong enough to knock Coronamon off me. "Don't be stupid; he's an evil Digimon that's begging for its pathetic life! Ending it now will be for the greater good!"

"Even so, no Digimon deserves to be absorbed at least let him come back as a digiegg!" Coronamon pleads as he stands back up.

"He threatened Komachi," Koh gives Orgemon a death glare that could make a mega level shake. "I'm not taking the risk he gets reborn and remembers his hatred for us. He needs to be deleted!"

Koh gives me a nod, and I execute my claw strike, diving into Orgemon's skull. He squirms for a bit as blood oozes out, but after a while, he finally stops moving even though his eyes are still wide open. When I pull my claws out, he disburses into data. Patamon, Monodramon and I start taking in the specs of white light. "Done."

"How could you!" Coronamon looks as if he's about to throw up as he covers his mouth in horror. "I don't think I can travel with a monster like you anymore!"

"Please don't," Koh's eyes soften as he sees Coronamon runoff.

"You're worse than the red hood!" Coronamon's tears fly in the wind. "At least he left digieggs!"

"Such a child," Patamon turns his head from the scene, upset at the ignorance.

"Do you want to go after him?" I verbally say what I know Koh is contemplating.

"No, he needs his space," I see Koh's fist slightly tighten as he tries to maintain his composure. "He'll probably head back to Babamon. Let's give him a few days."

"If you say so," I cross my arms, and we begin our awkward walk back to the union.

"Huh? Pulsa tried to call," Koh holds his digivice close to his ear. "No answer? I wonder what they wanted?"

"Maybe they were just checking on you?" Tonpei suggest.

"Yeah, maybe..." Koh says with uncertainty.


End file.
